On an appropriately sizzling hot day in September, farm advisor Maria de la Fuente hosted a chile pepper field day in Santa Clara, California. Heat-challenged participants tasted samples from de la Fuente's research on more than 85 chile pepper varieties, ranging from the explosive habanero to the tranquil bell pepper.
Participants taste chile pepper varieties on display at the Chile Pepper Field Day.
80 percent of them are small farmers from ethnic groups, mostly Chinese, Vietnamese, Hispanic, and Japanese. She also aids the farmers with specialty crop development and marketing. De la Fuente has developed a programmatic focus on mushrooms, a popular crop for which she frequently presents workshops throughout the state. Currently she is evaluating different production methods and substrates for mushroom production in Santa Clara County. One method includes oyster mushroom production using yard trimmings as the base for substrate preparation.