Brokaw Nursery

FARMLAND: 200 acres in Ventura (375 miles to the market) and 75 acres in Soledad, CA (125 miles to the market).

PEOPLE: Hank and Ellen Brokaw started the farm, son Rob manages the nursery and son Will manages farmers' market sales. They are helped by 15 full-time employees.

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: In the late '50s, Hank and Ellen Brokaw started Brokaw Nursery in their backyard. In the '60s they purchased a ranch and started an orchard from scratch, developing virgin land into fruit trees. The rugged terrain, clay-ey soil, and steep slopes of the ranch have made it challenging and expensive to plant orchards on all of the ranch's acreage.

Brokaw Nursery exports to over 45 countries worldwide, and is one of California's largest suppliers of subtropical orchard trees. They are also an industry leader in innovating new varieties of fruits and rootstocks. The nursery still constitutes the bulk of the business.

SOIL: Clay, built with potassium, iron, and zinc chelates; urea is added to irrigation water. When trees are unhealthy, the Brokaws will remove them, dig trenches, amend the soil with gypsum and mushroom compost, and then plant new trees.

PEST MANAGEMENT: Round-up (an herbicide) is used around the base of trees for weeds. The Brokaws work hard to avoid having to spray their fruit. One of the biggest problems for avocado growers is a pest called avocado thrip. For two years, Will insisted that trees not be sprayed with Agri-Mek to prevent the pest, but the farm lost 80% of its avocados to thrip. Organic alternatives have not proved effective, and Hank has decided to use the pesticide again to avoid more loss. Citrus fruit is treated with a pesticide called Admire when aphids infest the trees.

WATER USE: Sprinkler irrigation from well water

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: None