Advisor Continued from Page 12
flowers, Mellano said there is little scientif- ic research for several plants on how much nitrate to apply. “Farmers want to do a good job,” said Mellano, also a member of the regional Irrigated Lands Group. “We make mistakes, and we try to fix them as quickly as we can, and we try to educate others on what works.” Growers such as Mellano and Ferro say the farming community in San Diego County needs to be given latitude to ad- dress water board requirements in a way that is compatible with the region’s agri- cultural character. “San Diego is significantly different, and we need an ag order that is reflective of our differences,” said Valerie Mellano, an Irrigated Lands Group consultant. She is a former UCCE farm advisor and is married to Michael Mellano. “In developing the new ag order, there’s a huge opportunity for education and re- search,” she said. Thus far, Spinelli’s educational content has reached two-thirds of the Irrigated Land Group’s 1,200 members. In addition to the live training sessions, growers can watch videos that cover topics such as evapotranspiration, irrigation distribution uniformity and water quality indicators on Spinelli’s YouTube channel. (This story is adapted from an article published by the Univerisity of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.)
the gap” for growers, including himself. “Gerry has been great because he has expertise in nurseries, but the educational content he creates is relevant to all grow- ers,” said Ferro, an avocado and citrus grower in northern San Diego County. Spinelli, who specializes in container- ized production in nurseries and floricul- ture, has provided technical assistance to growers since he joined UCCE in 2020. “I started teaching over Zoom since I be- came an advisor during the pandemic, and I try to cover different topics for each train- ing,” Spinelli said, adding that he teaches in English and Spanish, making his content more accessible to the grower community in San Diego County. For in-person educational opportuni- ties, Spinelli created the “Last Wednesday” monthly meetings at offices of the San Diego County Farm Bureau. The sessions bring together growers and agricultural experts to share information. “We try to get our information out in creative ways, and Gerry is instrumental in that,” said Tasha Ardalan, program coor- dinator for the San Diego Region Irrigated Lands Group. “He’s our primary source of really wonderful information delivered in an engaging way. He’s proactive and is always willing to try new things, too.” Currently, San Diego County agricul- tural discharge rules are modeled after
Ornamental plants fill Olive Hill Greenhouse in Fallbrook. San Diego County growers say regulations should reflect the region’s diverse varieties of ornamentals, flowers and exotic fruits.
regulations for the Central Valley. As con- versations on the rules continue, Spinelli is providing the regional water board with information on nurseries and greenhouses. “I’m trying to help others understand how nursery and greenhouse production systems function, and how and why they
are different from an almond orchard or tomato field in Fresno,” Spinelli explained. Michael Mellano, CEO of Mellano & Co., a fresh-cut flower grower and distributor in Oceanside, said he feels the rules fail to account for variability of crops in the re- gion. Growing more than 100 varieties of
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