Dirty Girl Produce

FARMLAND:14 acres in Santa Cruz and La Selva Beach, about 90 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

PEOPLE: Joe Schirmer along with 4 full-time and 12 seasonal workers

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: In 1997, Joe Schirmer began working for Dirty Girl Produce and 2 years later took the helm from the original “dirty girls” who started the farm in 1995. Joe graduated from the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden apprenticeship program with a certificate in ecological horticulture. Inspired by the French Intensive gardening method, he has adapted tractor farming to incorporate its principles.

SOIL: Dirty Girl Produce is endowed with a deep, rich sandy loam that has the texture of chocolate cake. The addition of compost and manures (chicken, dairy, and horse), and the use of cover crops maintains soil fertility and porosity.

WEED CONTROL: Hoe and tractor cultivation, hand weeding, propane flame weeder.

PEST MANAGEMENT: "Treating the soil as though it were an organism with an immune system," Joe says, "makes it healthy." As a result, pest problems are relatively rare. Row covers are used to shield against occasional aphid or flea beetle visitations.

WATER USE: Overhead and drip irrigation.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: CCOF since 1995