Pajaro Valley Magazine October 15 2021

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

A supplement to The Pajaronian

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Crystal Bay Farm offers pumpkins, seasonal events and more P4

Spooky harvest

GARDENING P6 | HOME OF THE WEEK P7 | MIXING BOWL

P8

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21 Brennan St, Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831.761.7301

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Dan Pulcrano

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Let’s get this forkin’ party /4s 1 started.

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Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2021. All rights reserved.

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Tom Brezsny’s

Real Estate of Mind Provoking thought since 1990

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Luptas di berisquisaid: andi“They simi,aren’t quo going Tom: Rachel, you Provoking since 1990 essinulpa nimillaciam que molorem. to bury us thought with all our stuff. ” What did you mean byquibercima that?

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Et res sitatus andentem.

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Qui dolorro occupti essinulpa nimillaciam que itmolorem. anything? How can weipsundit give up?

Will we busdae necaectium et dus. plam dunt am wishest, wequibercima had it someday?

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Nobitatia volorero illor rem volest que that stuff. We’ve tried for years with the Cerrume nienimi ligenducient verum vendus restis senistota sam hitatur best of intentions and limited success, but fugitatem imdolorro inimus, voluptur?

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Rachel: Somewhere our piles ofaut stuff, alit, cusam ium quoincomniatiur Torisquosae repuditas untread ut facia we found a book we hadn’t (like a lot im facepra verspel laciae suntem doloribus, utatetur? of the books we stockpiled). It was called ipsamus, quamand sed es maximus asse Material World ites contained photos Cerrume nienimi ligenducient verum volorerfero tem all quod quo voluptaquos of families from over the world posed fugitatem im inimus, voluptur? Quiberu ex et is eic te litbelongings. volupti dolum in front of their We saw how ptatur? little some people othernihit countries iumquiatio exces in erion aut latown Cepudandam quamaround si beaatendusant. and then werem looked allniet, the stuff quam quis fugita consedi eos Pudis simagonizing quis maiorrovitem corrum we were over in our garage and eost alit late verum que coressin attic.

That wasn’t a pretty picture. alit, cusam ium quo comniatiur aut Voloreca turionsedit quo etur? Qui odit im facepraAnd verspel laciae suntem Richard: then we looked at each quisciis mo optatur?

Quaspit aut volore other andquam we made a es promise that ourasse ipsamus, sed es maximus doluptiis inus si qui voluptas nos modi desire to downsize wasn’t going to be volorerfero tem quod quo voluptaquos ilibus. held hostage by a mountain of stuff that ex is eiceven te lit volupti weetdidn’t use anymore, that Ique nulparum faccus, isdolum a and conestr iumquiatio exces erion nihit aut lat go we were having such difficulty letting uptat. of. It was anrem epiphany ofconsedi sorts.audipsa We hadeos quam quis fugita niet, Alique ma enisi quatet am, become prisoners of que our own stuff and eost alit usandite late verum coressin piciaec latur dicia quia it was getting in the wayaut - literally and Voloreca turionsedit quo etur?

Qui odit pa ipsant magnihicid quiate re ad que figuratively. quisciis mout optatur?

Quaspit aut volore delibusam et ut odicidebit, siment Rachel: I remember Richard saying: doluptiis inus sidolorro qui voluptas nos dem pori vitatia quiamodi “We’requae acting like Egyptian Pharaohs ilibus. who need 30-year-old skis, high school illatur?

Voluptat aspernatum, serupta yearbooks, dishware, Ique nulparum isnonsedipsum a used conestr ecesci res antique eum faccus, restium Christmas decorations a complete uptat. eum que dolorem nosand dolum lam, set of National Geographic magazines to Alique quatet am, audipsa etur, aenisi duntusdae makecust ama successful journeylam intodolorpo the afterlife! piciaec usandite latur quia rempeliquid modis autaut ataerror re I don’t think we can afford a dicia tomb big pa ipsant magnihicid quiate enough tooptatio hold it all!!” volorest dempor aut re autad que delibusam ut had etque uta good odicidebit, siment explabo. recuste posapel Richard: Nem We laugh about that…and realized that most quia of our dem quae we pori dolorro vitatia lives have been spent growing, collecting, illatur?

Voluptat aspernatum, serupta buyingres andeum saving, and that suddenly, ecesci restium nonsedipsum heading into the last third of our lives, eum que dolorem nos dolum lam, things were heading in the opposite etur, custRealtor® a duntusdae lam dolorpo direction. It was DRE a real#01063297 existential moment.831-818-1431 rempeliquid modis aut ataerror re getreal@sereno.com volorest optatio dempor aut auttalk Next Week: Rachel and Richard more about the que existential struggle with explabo.

Nem recuste posapel stuff… PA I D A DV E RTO R I A L

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3

BONE YARD

4

PUMPKIN

Local pumpkin patch celebrates the Halloween season

BY JOHANNA MILLER

T

he harvest season is in full swing at Crystal Bay Farm, a family-run farm in Watsonville specializing in pumpkins, winter and heirloom squash, berries and more.

POWER

The annual pumpkin patch is currently covered in skeletons and skulls, ghouls and ghosts, spiderwebs and more for the lead up to Halloween on Oct. 31.

Owners and farmers Lori and

Jeff Fiorovich oversee the property on the corner of San Andreas and Zils Road. The farm has been certified organic since 1997, and began its focus on pumpkins about 15 years ago.

“Halloween is like our Christmas,” Lori Fiorovich said. “We just love it. We love sharing in the fun with everyone.”

The annual pumpkin patch opened this year on Oct. 1, and

Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 20211 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Lori Fiorovich, who owns Crystal Bay Farm with hr husband, strolls through her pumpkin patch.

Johanna Miller

FRESH CROPS Crystal Bay also offers visitors a farmstand

to buy food grown on the farm.

CREATURE DECOR

A fake rat keeps watch on a freshly harvested pumpkin.

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Tarmo Hannula

business has been steadily growing. The farm offers around 10 varieties of orange pumpkins, most that grow with hearty, thick stems.

This year’s pumpkins are on average much bigger than last year, Lori Fiorovich said. They planted an extra quarter-acre dedicated solely to bigger varieties, which usually pull only one or two pumpkins (compared to smaller kinds that produce five to eight).

“The bigger the pumpkin, the bigger the smile, the bigger the face on your jack-olantern,” she said.

Crystal Bay Farm also offers U-pick strawberries, and sells small edible squash at its on-site farmstead. This includes some winter heirloom squash varieties that are in the Ark of Taste, an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, a group of volunteers were busy unloading and arranging more pumpkins into the patch. Crystal Bay is part of Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), a worldwide movement to link travelers with organic farms. Volunteers come and participate in the daily life of their host farm, receiving free room and board in exchange for their work.

“And they get an education,” Fiorovich said. “They’ll leave here knowing more about pumpkins than they probably ever wanted to. You might not know what a hybrid squash is… but by the time you leave here, oh, you’ll know!”

Abigail McComas, who is visiting from Northern California, agreed.

“I’m already telling my friends all of the squash facts,” she said. “It’s great, getting more hands-on experience. It’s more than just studying, you’re actually harvesting. It’s more real.”

Added Sam Casey of Boston, Mass.: “It’s a great way to volunteer and travel. It’s really fun.”

After a year of schools being closed, Crystal Bay Farm will also return to hosting field trips starting on the 15th, and through the end of the month.

“I’m super excited about that,” Fiorovich said. “I didn’t realize how much I missed them, the joy they bring to the farm.”

The farm hosts live music on the weekends, including local band Nomalakadoja this Sunday at 1pm, and occasionally invites vendors to set up near the farmstead to sell their wares. Food trucks will be on site Sunday and on Oct. 23.

“Halloween is a time to unleash that inner child in all of us,” Fiorovich said, “to be silly and have fun. That’s what we want to do here.”

Crystal Bay Farm is located at 40 Zils Road and is open daily 10am-6pm. For information, visit crystalbayfarm.com or follow on Facebook.

5

GARDENING that may be toothed along the edges. Leaves are smaller near the top of the plant and may be covered with fine hairs. The leaves are sessile, which means they attach directly to the plant. The stems are hollow and the root system is a shallow taproot.

Disease vector If robbing nearby garden plants of sunlight and nutrients wasn’t bad enough, common groundsel is also a carrier of several fungal diseases. It can host Cineraria leaf rust (Coleosporium tussilagini). It can also carry the fungus that causes black rot, another fungal disease that can affect citrus, chickpeas, cucurbits, such as cucumber and melon, tomatoes and peas.

A toxic weed

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 20211 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

While hailed as a medicinal plant by some, common groundsel contains chemicals, called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can cause irreparable liver damage. You’d have to eat an awful lot of it, but you may want to avoid feeding it to your chickens, just to be on the safe side.

6

Controlling common groundsel BE VIGILANT Common groundsel is a carrier of several fungal diseases.

Vectors for plant disease Common groundsel can multiply quickly if not controlled

By KATE RUSSELL

F

ew weeds come up as quickly and resiliently as common groundsel.

Also known as oldman-in-the-spring, this European annual weed prefers cool, wet winter weather, dying off each summer, but it never fails to return each year.

Common groundsel description Like

other

members

of

the

sunflower family, common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) features a sunny yellow flower. Akin to dandelion, mature seed heads transform into puffballs that fly on every breeze. The flowers of common groundsel are smaller than dandelions, and the green bracts have black tips. The plant has an upright growth, normally growing 16 inches tall.

Common groundsel features pinnately lobed leaves (with matching loops and curves on either side)

Common groundsel is self-pollinating. Each plant can produce 1,700 seeds, and there can be three generations per year. That ends up being a lot of weeds! The best way to control common groundsel is to prevent it from spreading in the first place. This means snatching seed heads any time they are seen and tossing them in the trash. Seedlings are far easier to pull than mature plants, so learn to recognize them and pull them out every time they are seen. Heavy common groundsel infestations can be slowed or halted with sheet mulching.

As with all weeds, this is an ongoing battle. Because these plants carry disease, it is better to be vigilant.

Kate Russell is a UCCE Master Gardener.

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are ideal for events.

Watsonville home sits on 12 acres with fruit orchard, redwood trees

T

his creekside home is on the market for the first time in 45 years, according to its listing.

Located at 2007 Green Valley Road in Watsonville, the 1,948-square-foot home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The home sits on 12 acres that traverse both sides of the creek and include a fruit tree orchard and redwoods.

There are two entrances to the property, with one leading to the main two-story home and two-vehicle garage. The second entrance leads to a 2,000-square-foot barn/ shop that consists of six rooms and an office. The property has been used to host events in the past, the listing states.

The home, built in 1970, is listed at $1,499,000 by Century 21 Real Estate Alliance. For information, visit bit.ly/30lFDGt.

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THE MIXING BOWL

Southern Indian sourdough vegetable pancakes it is important to use water that isn’t chlorinated.

Uttampams: 1/2 cup urad dal, lentils 2 tablespoons chana dal, lentils 2 cups white rice, like Jasmine 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon salt, un-iodized salt is recommended 3/4 to 1 cup water that has no added chlorine 2-3 tablespoons oil for frying pancakes

8

Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 20211 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Topping:

UTTAMPAMS Subtle, flavorful and digestible Southern Indian pancakes are good anytime. But be warned,

they take time and ingredients are not commonly found in most grocery stores.

By SARAH RINGLER

U

ttampams, touted as a typical southern Indian breakfast pancake, are good at any time. Their subtle and intriguing flavors come from a sourdough pancake that is fried with bell peppers, onions and cilantro leaves. I made them once for an experiment and found myself thinking about the flavor so much that I made them again. Not only flavorful, uttampams are very easy on your stomach. The recipe,

adapted from one by Swasthi, is at Indianhealthyrecipes.com.

Indian cuisine has a very old tradition that goes back 5,000 years and varies drastically across the diverse country. Gujarat, in Southern India where uttampams are popular, is famous for its vegetarian food. Rice is an important component. Uttampams are made from a mixture of rice, lentils and fenugreek seeds that have been soaked and ground up. The mixture is then set aside to ferment giving it a slightly sour taste. It is then fried like a pancake and served

with yogurt, chutney and sambal, a chili sauce.

The recipe does take a while.

The rice and lentil mixture needs to ferment for several hours so I started the soaking and grinding the day before. I also want to warn you that the ingredients aren’t typically in most kitchens. Two kinds of lentils are used, urad dal and chana dal. Both are available at Staff of Life as well the fenugreek seeds. You can buy them all in bulk so you aren’t forced to buy something you might not use again.

Also, to aid in the fermentation process and for fluffier pancakes,

1 large red onion cut into small squares 1 medium red bell pepper cut in small squares 1/4 cup coriander leaves Mix both lentils with fenugreek seeds in a small bowl. Pour fresh water and soak for 4-5 hours. In another bowl rinse rice and soak for 4-5 hours.

Drain water from lentils and grind in a blender. Drain water from rice and add to the blender with the lentils and grind. Add fresh water to make a smooth batter that isn’t runny. Put into a bowl, cover and rest for 8-16 hours until fermented. It is fermented when you see little bubbles. Don’t add salt until just before you’re ready to make the pancakes.

Cut the red onion and bell peppers into 1/2-inch squares. Wash and dry cilantro. Combine onions, peppers and cilantro leaves in a medium bowl.

Stir salt into the batter. Make one pancake at a time. Heat the griddle over medium heat. When griddle is hot, add a few tablespoons of oil. When the oil is shiny, spoon about 1/3 cup of batter on the griddle. You should have enough oil to make the edge crispy. When little holes appear, sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of mixed vegetables on the top.

Flip the pancake and cook until vegetables are done. Continue to add a little oil as you make successive pancakes. Serve plain or with chutney, hot sauce (sambal) and yogurt.

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PHOTO GALLERY Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

FEATHERED FRIENDS Curious

Tarmo Hannula

MIMIC A Hoverfly

(or syrphid fly) resembles a honeybee, which may serve to ward off predators.

Unfortunately, this syrphid was attracted to a sticky yellow trap.

Ed Show

10

SOARING THROUGH The Blue Angels fly past the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco for Fleet Week.

Robert T. Higaki

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 20211 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

by nature, these ostriches come in for a closer look at a news photographer at the Gilroy Ostrich Farm.

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