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Growing Satsuma Mandarins in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the warm sunny pocket above the fog, the satsuma mandarin is close to a sure thing. The Banana Belt gives this already-easy citrus the extra heat it does not even strictly need, which means earlier, sweeter, more generous fruit with very little effort on your par
Growing Roma Tomatoes in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, this is the good news page. The Banana Belt is the best place in Santa Cruz County to grow a Roma.
Growing Ranunculus in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, ranunculus is a good and rewarding crop here, with one small adjustment for your extra warmth.
Growing Meyer Lemons in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket above the fog, you have the easiest place in Santa Cruz to grow a Meyer lemon. More heat, milder nights, and rare frost add up to sweet, well-sized fruit with very little fuss.
Growing Zucchini in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, this is the easy page. Zucchini practically grows itself here. Your main job will be giving the surplus away.
Growing Persimmons in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you want a deciduous fruit tree that mostly takes care of itself, a persimmon in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt is one of the easiest, most rewarding choices in the county. The warm sunny slopes ripen the fruit sweet and glowing orange, the tree shrugs off most pests and diseases,
Growing Sungold Cherry Tomatoes in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, brace yourself: a single Sungold plant here can bury you in fruit. This is the easy button of Santa Cruz tomatoes.
Growing Low-Chill Peaches and Nectarines in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
The Banana Belt is the best place in Santa Cruz County to try a low-chill peach, but better is not the same as easy. The warm thermal slopes above the fog give you the heat a peach craves to ripen sweet fruit, and the drier, sunnier air eases disease pressure compared with the co
Growing Heritage Apples in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
The Banana Belt's warmth is a gift for most crops, but apples have a quirk: they want cold. These warm, frost-free slopes bank fewer winter chill hours than the cooler valleys, so growing a heritage apple here is about matching the variety to the chill you actually get. Done righ
Growing Romaine Lettuce in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, you can grow excellent romaine. The catch is the opposite of the tomato story: here you plant lettuce around the warm season rather than into it.
Growing Grapes in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket above the fog, grapes have an easy time of it. Extra heat ripens the fruit well, the slopes drain freely, and frost is rare. The Banana Belt is some of the friendliest grape ground in Santa Cruz County.
Growing Sugar Snap Peas in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
In the warm, sunny pockets above the fog, peas grow beautifully too. The one difference that matters is heat. Time your sowings to dodge the late-spring warm spell and the banana belt gives you a clean, productive crop.
Growing Feijoa (Pineapple Guava) in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm thermal belt above the fog, the feijoa, or pineapple guava, is an easy, dependable fruit that fits right in. It does not need the Banana Belt's warmth the way citrus or avocado does, but it crops happily here and earns its place as an evergreen
Growing Everbearing Strawberries in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
In the county's warm sunny pocket above the fog, strawberries ripen faster and sweeter than down on the coast. The trade-off is heat: water carefully, mulch well, and tend the bed in the afternoon and these berries are a joy.
Growing Jalapenos in the Banana Belt
If you garden in the warm sunny pocket above the fog, the hill belts of Santa Cruz, Soquel, and Aptos that the marine layer clears early, jalapenos are genuinely at home. This is one of the better all-round growing zones in the county for a long, productive pepper season.
Growing Eureka Lemons in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the warm sunny pocket above the fog and you want a real, sharply acidic lemon rather than the milder Meyer, the Banana Belt is the place to get it. This is the county's best citrus ground, and it gives a Eureka or Lisbon lemon the extra heat that the cool coast w
Growing Bush Beans in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, bush beans are about as easy and dependable as a vegetable gets. The Banana Belt's steady warmth and mild nights make Blue Lake snap beans a reliable, productive cr
Growing Brussels Sprouts in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm Banana Belt, the sunnier hill pockets above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the warmer side of Santa Cruz, Brussels sprouts are a good crop for you with one firm rule: time them to finish in cool weather. Get the timing right and the belt grow
Growing Broccoli in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, broccoli is still a good crop for you. It just asks for a little more attention to timing than it does down on the foggy coast.
Growing Bell Peppers in the Santa Cruz Banana Belt
If you garden in the county's warm sunny pocket, the hill belts above the fog around Soquel, Aptos, and the sunnier side of Santa Cruz, bell peppers are a genuinely good crop for you. The Banana Belt has the heat peppers need to color up, not just grow.