Fields of baby lettuce in the Salinas Valley, California
Adding videos to my blog seemed like a great idea. I took some videos in Monterey with my Nikon Coolpix P-90 (great little digital camera) last week, first ones I had taken with that camera. But how to post them?!?!?
WordPress doesn’t accept .avi files, which is what my camera takes. I logged onto the wordpress forum and got my answer. Sort of. You have to upload them to Youtube first. Ack, another thing to learn. All this technology.
Turned out that was fairly easy, as well as sharing them on my Facebook page (which isn’t public) and Twitter. I did that from the Youtube site. But to insert the videos in my blogs, I had to go to the “insert” section under drafts and click on “video.” Piece of cake.
Here is a shot of agricultural workers harvesting broccoli in the Salinas Valley.
I know it isn’t the most gripping film in the world, but it shows how the workers follow a slow-moving tractor, bending and cutting, bending and cutting, then tossing the broccoli up to the people on the platform, who wrap it. Check out the victory dance of the guy on the left in the white sweatshirt as he nears the end of the row and a brief break as the tractor swings to go down the next row.
Agricultural workers harvest romaine lettuce in Salinas Valley.
Romaine and iceberg lettuce, as well as cauliflower and probably other vegetables, are harvested the same way. They don’t get washed, but are packaged right in the field. We saw all of these things on our Ag Ventures Tour with Evan Oakes (agventuretours.com).
From the field, the vegetables go into boxes, which go into trucks, which go to refrigerated warehouses. From the warehouses, they go into refrigerated trucks for shipment to distribution points, and thence to other refrigerated trucks and to your grocery store. A LOT of fossil fuel gets burned in the processes of cooling and shipping.
Field of artichokes in the Salinas Valley
It is sooooo much better for the environment if you can grow at least some of your own food at home. Even a little bit helps. You can even grow some things in containers. Here in late October, I have bell peppers, chard, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks and salad greens growing in raised beds from Garden Supply Company. I’m growing green onions and bok choy in pottery “color bowls” right now. I also have artichokes, rhubarb and red onions growing in the “Garden of Perpetual Responsibility” and kale, cabbage, chard, collards, and eggplants growing in our front yard by the sidewalk. What are you growing in YOUR garden?
I'm a retired medical researcher, retired professional writer/photographer, avid gardener, and active environmentalist living in southern California. I wrote a weekly newspaper column on environmental topics in the Huntington Beach Independent for many years. I also supervised environmental restoration projects and taught at the Orange County Conservation Corps before retiring in the summer of 2016. This blog chronicles my efforts to live a green life growing as much food as possible for my husband and myself on a 4,500 sq ft yard that is covered mainly by house, garage, driveway, and sidewalks. I am also dedicated to combatting global climate change.
Hi, I found your blog and saw your pictures…..I was wondering if we could use your lettuce field picture in a brouchure we are designing? I really liked the colors. Thank you in advance for your attention to my inquiry.
Lou Murray's Green World 
Hi, I found your blog and saw your pictures…..I was wondering if we could use your lettuce field picture in a brouchure we are designing? I really liked the colors. Thank you in advance for your attention to my inquiry.
Ivonne Sanchez
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can you get me telefone # for escamilla &son comp.
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No, sorry.
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