Loamy soil deposited from rains along the Laguna de Santa Rosa, mean perfect growing conditions at R. Castañeda Farms off Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. Workers were busy picking late summer / early fall green zucchini and Mediterranean squash early Thursday morning Sept. 26. In an area that easily sees five feet of water pooled during heavy rain storms, the ground is stable enough to grow crops from mid-May through late fall before winter rains begin in earnest.
Juana Lara harvests squash, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Edinero Ortiz harvests squash, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Renaldo Herrera carries a bucket full of harvested squash, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Buckets of harvested Mediterranean squash, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Workers harvest squash, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Martin Hernandez drives Aa John Deere with large agricultural tires as he navigates sodden rows to haul squash to a packing shed, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Buckets of squash are hauled to a packing shed, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
Sergio Garcia-Lopez rinses off squash before they are dried and packed for delivery to local businesses, Thursday Sept. 26, 2013 at R. Castañeda Farms in Santa Rosa at the Laguna de Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
-Kent Porter
