Spring Planting at Opal Creek Farm

2025 crops

Farmer Brian showing off his tray of Early Girl tomato seedlings that are about to be planted at Opal Creek Farm.

In 2025, we are planting more varieties of crops than we’ve done before. We are specifically planting crops that will be good additions to school lunches as part of our Farm to School Project. We bought organic seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and the seeds are organically grown into transplants for us in Watsonville. 

What we will grow:

• Sungold Tomatoes

• Early Girl Tomatoes

• Sugar Snap Peas

• Peppers

Hear Opal Creek Farm farmers Brian and Sarah talk about the tomato varieties they’re planting on the farm this spring.

Planting for Dry Farming

Watch farmer Brian plant some of the dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes at the farm.

Our tomatoes are dry farmed. This means that after the initial planting, we don’t water them at all. This saves up to 500,000 gallons of water per acre!

First, we use the tractor to create rows for planting, and we create deep grooves where the tomatoes are going to be planted. To allow the roots to access the water stored in the soil, we use towels to dig and plant the baby tomato transplants deep into the soil, about ten inches where the soil is moist. The roots of the tomato plants will grow down seeking moisture, sometimes growing down to 8ft deep to tap into the stored water. 

Dry farming causes the tomatoes to develop an extra sweet and unique flavor because the sugars in the fruit are concentrated. Our Early Girl tomatoes will take just 50-60 days to mature and produce ripe fruit. We can’t wait for you to taste them!

Check out farmer Brian on the tractor as he creates rows for planting the tomatoes.