This past weekend I said goodbye to my beautiful garden. The unrelenting wave of October frost swept over it leaving budding pepper plants wilted and spaghetti squash leaves dried up and brown. 
So now the lingering wait begins. That forever span of time between the first frost and first plant getting put into the soil the following spring. In recent years, the introduction of cold frames and hoop houses have extended Wisconsin's growing season by a few months but I often imagine what it would be like to eat fresh garden fruits and vegetables year round. 
While I was in California this past summer, I watched miles of produce, fruit trees, grape vines and fresh food markets roll by my car window. I began to wonder about states like California, that enjoy warmer climates. How many months of the year do the people in those states enjoy fresh garden produce? How long is the normal growing season there? Here's what I found out.
California has a unique growing climate and can grow many different types of vegetable crops throughout the year. The state is so immense and the climate so diverse that it experiences 16 growing zones.  Crops are classified as warm season or cool season crops, which is really similar to Wisconsin.    So....the "cool weather crops" that are grown in California in October, November and December such as lettuce,  cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, root crops such as carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, radishes, leafy crops (mustard, bok choy,chard, arugula, lettuce, spinach and cool-season legumes are the same  "cool weather crops" grown in Wisconsin in March, April and May.  
California has 76,400 farms and ranches that produce nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. California produces more than 400 crops. Of those crops, these are produced only in California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, raisins, kiwifruit, olives, clingstone peaches, pistachios, dried plums, pomegranates, sweet rice, ladino clover seed, and walnuts.

California's top-ten valued commodities for 2014 are:

• Milk — $9.4 billion
• Almonds — $5.9 billion
• Grapes — $5.2 billion
• Cattle, Calves — $3.7 billion
• Strawberries — $2.5 billion

• Lettuce — $2 billion
• Walnuts — $1.8 billion
• Tomatoes — $1.6 billion
• Pistachios — $1.6 billion
• Hay — $1.3 billion

                                            


Here is Wisconsin's top ten agricultural commodities:

Dairy products – Known as “America’s Dairyland,” Wisconsin ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for cheese production and No. 2 for milk. In 2012, Wisconsin dairy cows produced 27.2 billion pounds of milk.

Corn – Corn is grown in Wisconsin both for grain and silage for livestock feed. In 2012, the state’s farmers harvested 399 million bushels for grain and 14.2 million tons of silage.

Cattle & calves – In 2012, cash receipts from marketing cattle and calves totaled $1.319 billion. Wisconsin ranks No. 13 in the nation for gross income generated from cattle and calves produced.

Soybeans – Soybeans generated $981 million in cash receipts in 2012. The state’s farmers harvested more than 70 million bushels of this versatile crop, with an average yield of 42 bushels per acre.

Potatoes – Wisconsin ranks No. 3 for potato production. In 2012, Wisconsin farmers harvested 64,500 acres of potatoes, with an average yield of 460 hundredweight (cwt) per acre.

Greenhouse/nursery – In 2011, the greenhouse and nursery industry generated $247.7 million in cash receipts. Christmas trees, a large segment of the industry, represented $14.3 million of that total.

Cranberries – Wisconsin ranks No. 1 for cranberry production. During the 2012 season, the state’s growers harvested a record-high 19,700 acres of cranberries and 4.8 million bushels of the fruit.

Wheat – Before becoming famous for its dairy production, Wisconsin was known as “America’s breadbasket.” Wheat farmers harvested 245,000 acres of wheat in 2012.

Hogs – Wisconsin producers raised 320,000 swine in 2012. The industry generated $134.39 million in cash receipts in 2012, ranking the state No. 17 for gross income from hogs produced.

Broilers – Wisconsin produced 51.7 million broilers in 2012 for a farm-gate value of $108.55 million. The state ranks No. 20 in the nation for value of broiler production.

The winter months in California are October through March.  Winter in California brings rain and in the mountains brings snow. The rainy season runs from November through March. Any time it's raining at lower elevations it's usually snowing at upper ones. 

Did you know that parts of California even experience frost? I didn't. Check out the chart below.

City	Last Frost Date	First Frost Date
Anaheim	No Frost	No Frost
Bakersfield	1/25	12/11
Chula Vista	No Frost	No Frost
Fontana	2/12	11/28
Freemont	No Frost	No Frost
Fresno	2/28	11/17
Glendale	1/21	12/23
Huntington Beach	No Frost	No Frost
Irvine	No Frost	No Frost
Long Beach	No Frost	No Frost
Los Angeles	No Frost	No Frost
Modesto	2/27	11/19
Moreno Valley	1/26	12/15
Oakland	No Frost	No Frost
Oxnard	No Frost	No Frost
Riverside	1/19	12/21
Sacramento	1/31	12/4
San Bernardino	1/21	12/24
San Diego	No Frost	No Frost
San Francisco	No Frost	No Frost
San Jose	2/17	12/2
Santa Ana	No Frost	No Frost
Santa Clarita	No Frost	No Frost
Stockton	2/26	11/18

What about the grapes?

The California grape season begins in late spring when the first grapes are harvested in the California’s southernmost growing region. By mid-July, the southern season has ended and harvest moves north to the San Joaquin Valley. Through late fall, the harvest of fresh grapes from California continues.

Sequential harvesting from south to north combined with advanced storage techniques means that California grapes are available from May to January.

I'll leave you with this video of beautiful Yosemite Park in the winter. I am NOT a lover of winter but if I had to pick a place to spend time watching the snow fall.....I would pick the peaceful confines of Yosemite National Park.