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Growing Satsuma Mandarins in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
If you garden in the foggy coastal strip of Santa Cruz County and you have always assumed citrus is not for you, the satsuma mandarin is the tree that proves you wrong. It is the most cold-hardy and most coast-friendly citrus there is, and it ripens in the cool of fall rather tha
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
Santa Cruz County Plant Guides by Microclimate
Variety-by-variety growing guides for Santa Cruz County's microclimates: the coastal fog belt, the Banana Belt, the San Lorenzo Valley, and the Pajaro Valley.
Growing Ranunculus in the Pajaro Valley
If you garden down in the Pajaro Valley around Watsonville, you have some of the best flower ground in the county under your feet. Commercial cut-flower fields thrive on these rich valley soils, and ranunculus is right at home here with a little attention to drainage and frost po
Growing Roma Tomatoes in the San Lorenzo Valley
If you garden in Felton, Ben Lomond, or Boulder Creek, whether you can grow a Roma depends almost entirely on which part of your property you are standing in. The SLV is a split reality: sunny ridges can do it, shaded redwood canyons cannot.
Growing Ranunculus in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
If you garden in the cool, gray-morning strip right along the coast, from the West Side of Santa Cruz out toward Davenport and along the marine-influenced flats, this is your good news page. The fog belt is genuine flower-farm country, and ranunculus is one of the crops it grows
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 Zucchini in the Pajaro Valley
If you garden in Watsonville, Corralitos, or anywhere in the south county where the fog burns off early, you have the county's warmest microclimate and its richest soil. Zucchini is wildly productive here. The trick is keeping up with it and managing real summer pest pressure.
Growing Potatoes in the San Lorenzo Valley
If you garden under the redwoods of Felton, Ben Lomond, or Boulder Creek, potatoes are one of the more forgiving crops you can grow. They do not demand the blazing sun a tomato needs, they like the valley's cool air, and the main thing you have to read is your frost pockets and y
Growing Roma Tomatoes in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
If you garden in the fog belt, from Davenport down through the Santa Cruz, Capitola, and Aptos coast, the honest truth is that Romas are a stretch here. You can grow them, but you have to stack the deck.
Growing Meyer Lemons in the San Lorenzo Valley
Honest answer first: the San Lorenzo Valley is a poor fit for citrus in the ground. Redwood shade, acidic soil, and cold-air frost pockets all work against a Meyer lemon. There is a real workaround, but it is a container on a sunny ridge, not a tree in the canyon.
Growing Potatoes in the Pajaro Valley
If you garden in Watsonville, Corralitos, or the south-county flats and benches of the Pajaro Valley, potatoes are an easy win in your deep, rich ground. This is the warmest, earliest pocket in the county on some of the best farm soil in California, and a root crop that wants loo
Growing Zucchini in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
If you garden along the immediate coast around Santa Cruz, Capitola, the Aptos flats, or out toward Davenport, zucchini is absolutely workable here. It just grows on the fog belt's slower clock, and powdery mildew is the foe to plan around.
Growing Potatoes in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
If you garden in the immediate coastal band, the foggy strip through Santa Cruz, Capitola, the Aptos coast, and out toward Davenport, potatoes are a satisfying and forgiving crop for you. They want the cool spring weather the marine layer hands you, and they reward a little hilli
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 Persimmons in the San Lorenzo Valley
A persimmon is one of the better deciduous fruit trees for the San Lorenzo Valley, and it suits the place well. The valley's cooler inland winters give the tree plenty of the chill it barely needs anyway, and persimmons are tough, low-maintenance trees that handle cold better tha
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 Meyer Lemons in the Santa Cruz Coastal Fog Belt
Along the Santa Cruz, Capitola, and Aptos coast, a Meyer lemon will live happily, but cool foggy summers and short sun slow ripening and thin the skin. It works here. It just asks for patience and a sunny spot.
Growing Persimmons in the Pajaro Valley
The Pajaro Valley around Watsonville is the county's warmest microclimate, and that makes it fine persimmon country. This is fertile, sun-soaked farmland that grows commercial fruit for a living, and a backyard persimmon slots right in. The heat ripens the fruit sweet and full-co