Water as A Life Force Community Gardens Certified Farmer’s Market Permanent orchard plantings, such as citrus and avocados, can require up to 3 acre feet of water annually, depending upon age, soil and micro-climate conditions. Neff Ranch manages properties which benefit from two primary sources of irrigation water—untreated ground water and reclaimed water. In Southern California, the Santa Ana River flows through Riverside County and into Orange County passing through the Chino Dairy Preserve on its way to the Pacific Ocean. The percolated dairy waste adds nutrients to the ground water, requiring less macro and micro nutrient inputs in a fertilization program. The river-adjacent location of the Yorba Linda citrus orchard thus benefits from this nutrient rich natural water source. The Tustin Hass Avocado orchard is irrigated with tertiary treated, reclaimed water from the Irvine Ranch Water District. This is on a separate metering system from both the HOA’s ornamental landscaping and the domestic residential potable water supply. In both locations, these water sources are critical for sustaining the orchards. Water is life—where water flows, food grows. Community Gardens are different than Farmers Markets, providing a larger diversity of edible food types, typically geared to local neighborhood consumption. The feeling of growing your own food brings back memories of a simpler time when people lived closer to the land. Caring for your own fruit trees and gardens provides not only food for your family table, but is psychologically therapeutic. With your hands in the soil, tilling for better aeration and hoeing out weeds provides a mindful, restful and physically rewarding outlet for stresses of our modern age. A satisfying sense of accomplishment comes from knowing you have grown what you are eating. Marketing all commodities requires a thoughtful analysis of the various distribution channels, which can include local consumption, Farmer’s Markets, and commercial channels forlargerproductionvolumes.Other direct and indirect distribution channels could include farm to table restaurants and institutions such as public and private sector school systems, hospitals, senior and assisted care residential communities. Certified Farmer’s Markets have become a popular connection for local growers and the nearby residents. Success of a Farmer’s Market is largely driven by thedemographicsofthesurrounding neighborhoods. In support of local growers, the California Department of Agriculture has established rules that permit only California grown commodities can be sold in these Farmer’s Markets and restrict products coming in from other states. Local growers are required to meet the County requirements which include annual certification and inspection of their commodities to verify production. An extra benefit not commonly recognized is that tree ripened fruit, berries and vegetables grown and harvested for that day’s or week’s consumption are much more flavorful that what can be found in national grocery store chains. This is because large corporate farms generally need to harvest their production prior to full flavor maturity in order to survive the longer shipping times to reach distant markets. This is one of the reasons local Certified Farmers markets have become a formidable success story in our food production economy. It is a rich learning experience to meet and talk to the people who grew what you are buying to feed your family. Neff Ranch grows what it sells and we sell our products in multiple Certified Farmers Markets in Orange and LA County. Tree ripened fruit, berries and vegetables harvested same day