Orange is the new green. Halloween has become a holiday for the family farm. In tonight’s green report, Dave Silverbrand looks at a Halloween tradition with a name all its own Jack O’Lantern.
It’s gold that turns to green, the one crop in California that defies the drought, frightening off fear that there wouldn’t be enough water this summer.
At organic matters in Eureka this is their second year of the pumpkin crop, three times the size of the first year. And now it’s golden harvest time. California is one of the top three producers of pumpkins in this country.
Said Sandra Alvarez, “We put the seed in and watered once and let nature take its course.”
It’s a certified organic agri-business. That subject does not always come up on a day like this one but it has been ten years since the federal government began certifying organic businesses.
They support bio-diversity and safeguard animal health and welfare so they can exercise their natural behaviors. That’s why they feed their pig fonzi with a pumpkin.
Here at Organic Matters, they are hoping that a pumpkin patch can teach them something about the value of the earth itself. Some parents worry about the fright factor of Halloween. But it is hard to question the value of a pumpkin patch on a day like this one, on a farm where organic matters.
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