Chances are the lettuce in the salad you will be eating tomorrow was grown right now in the Imperial Valley. Estimates are that 90% of the lettuce we eat in the wintertime is grown in the Imperial Valley.
This is romaine lettuce being boxed for shipment right in the field.This farmworker is applying fertilizer to a field of lettuce.This is a field of kale. Kale is used primarily in some packaged salads and as a garnish.This is a field of corn, which will be available in the stores in early spring.These farmworkers are laying plastic to create a greenhouse for the melon seeds which are planted in the furrows.These are sugar beets, which are used to produce sugar. Sugar beets are white, by the way.These farmworkers are harvesting broccoli.If your cauliflower says "Winterhaven", here is where it came from. Cauliflower is also grown in Bard, as well as the Imperial Valley.The year-round agriculture here produces eight cuttings of alfalfa per year. The Imperial Valley is a big producer of hay and alfalfa. Some of it will be exported ...But a lot of it will go to feed the cattle here. Cattle for beef is one of the primary products of the Imperial Valley. The alfalfa being cut right now is also being shipped to California dairies in the colder parts of the state.These are carrots. They grow a lot of carrots here. The Imperial Valley also grows a lot of spinach, potatoes, and onions. During the warmer months, the fields will be replanted with other crops that are more tolerant of the heat. Due to the mild winters, the Imperial Valley is constantly in production year-round.
