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My Daddy

Dad. Father. Papa. The one who holds the family together. Patriarch. Leader. Bear hugger. Most memorable laugher. Teacher of life lessons. The one who taught me to drive. Passion instiller. Farmer. Daddy. 

Dads are one of the most important people in our lives. My Dad meant so much to me. He was the reason I am who I am today. I remember from a young age farming with my dad. Driving around with him checking fields. I even had a small table in his office at the farm that I pretended to work just like him. He taught me so much about agriculture. He is the reason I love agriculture and farming. He gave me my passion for agriculture. He was so proud that my sister and I wanted to be involved in agriculture too. But he hated that I went to school so far away. And even though I didn’t come home to farm with him as planned, I married an almond farmer who he loved as his own son. 


It pains me to write about my Dad in past tense. There will be no more memories and future planning with my Dad. My…
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Why the valley fog is good for farmers

Low clouds, poor visibility, dense ground level fog. This has pretty much described our mornings the last couple of weeks. The Central Valley and especially the southern end that we farm and live in, are quite prone to what is called the Tule Fog.


This Tule fog is created when there is plenty of moisture in the ground, the right temperature and stable atmosphere.  The fog generally appears more after a period of rain and cooler temperatures at night. Our night temperatures the last couple weeks have been in the low 40's, which is pretty cold for us. Mixing these with a few days of rain scattered in, we have had the perfect conditions for fog.


The typical residents of the Central Valley don't generally like the fog. It brings poor visibility of a mile or less, fog delays for surrounding schools, and people not knowing how to drive in the conditions. But farmers in our valley appreciate the fog.




Being home to the top almond producing county, almond farmers need the fog. The fog allows us the perfect conditions to prep the trees for the new crop. Fog presents the right amount of moisture for us to winter shake the old almond mummies off the trees. Almond mummies are the old almond crop that didn't shake off the tree during harvest in the fall. Almonds that stay on the tree after harvest become home for worms and insects. Theses worms and other insects staying on the tree allow for disease and insect populations to infest the new crop. So, we winter shake the trees to get these almond mummies and they respective worms off the trees. (P.S. Check out my saved Instagram story for more worm picture)


Our little almond farmer helping knock the almonds off


Fruit and nut trees also need winter chill hours to become dormant, and Tule fog helps contribute to that chill. Tule fog comes with cooler temperatures. Almonds, like other fruit and nut trees, go dormant in the winter to prepare for the new growth and buds in the spring. The chill hours help the trees to go through what we call bud differentiation. This is when the trees are determining whether a bud will be a flower or a leaf. Very soon, in the beginning of February, almonds trees will bloom and produce flowers. The almond trees need to have so many chill hours prior to bloom to ensure those buds are able to produce viable nuts.




So, next time you look out your kitchen window in the morning and see that low, dense fog, remember how good it is for farmers and how it is helping produce your favorite afternoon almond snack.


Until Next Time,
Almond Girl Jenny
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