Pajaro Valley MagazineSeptember 30 2022

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Here comes the HARVEST

By JOHANNA MILLER

Watsonville’s Crystal Bay Farm opens annual pumpkin patch

For more than 20 years, Crystal Bay Farm owners Lori and Jeff Fiorovich have offered the Pajaro Valley community a homegrown harvest tradition.

Every October, the couple trans forms their farm into a fami ly-friendly pumpkin patch, where people can come and pick out the perfect pumpkin, gourd or squash. The farm is decked out in Hallow een decorations, offers live music on the weekends, highlights local artists, and hosts school groups throughout the week.

“We’re still plucking along,” Lori said. “We love the madness of it all. I can’t imagine not doing this every year.”

Located on the corner of San Andreas and Zils roads, Crystal Bay grows everything from straw berries to sunflowers, with a large focus on squash, including winter heirloom varieties that are endan gered. They have a small vegetable garden, as well as a corn field that uses a 3,000-year-old seed source.

And of course—pumpkins.

“We grow everything ourselves,” Jeff said. “So really, this all starts back in May or June. All farming is a lot of work, but what we like about pumpkins and squash is that there’s only one harvest. It’s not like strawberries, which we have to pick a few times a week.”

The farm grows between 50 and 60 varieties, including certain

pumpkins ideal for making pies (Winter Luxury), unique heirlooms such as Sibley, and Kakai, a squash from Austria.

“We have stuff here that you can’t really find anywhere else,” Jeff said.

The harvest this year has been good, Jeff added, despite a ground squirrel problem.

“It was a challenging year,” he admitted. “The squirrels just keep coming back to eat the plant, they dig in deep to get the seeds.”

Crystal Bay, which has been Certified Organic since 1997, is part of Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), a movement to link travelers with organic farms. Volunteers, who Lori dubs “WWOOFers,” partici pate in the daily life of their host farm, receiving free room and board in exchange for their work.

Lori said that these volunteers are a huge reason why the pumpkin patch is so successful every year, and why people keep coming back.

“They work so hard,” she said. “I tell the WWOOFers, in the dark est, hardest hour of harvesting, just imagine the joy we’re going to bring to some little person’s face when they find the perfect pumpkin.”

On Sept. 28, a group of WWOOFers were hard at work decorating the farm, creating fresh “graves” with headstones near the pumpkin displays and setting up a brand new addition to the farm this year: a 14-foot skeleton

TEAMWORK Jeff and Lori Fiorovich, owners of Crystal Bay Farm in Watsonville, survey a section of their pumpkin patch and sunflower field.

Johanna Miller

SPOOKY SEASON Crystal Bay Farm offers a variety of different pumpkins, gourds and heirloom squash.

Johanna Miller

HARVEST 5

figure that will be on display in the middle of the Fiorovich’s sun flower field. The skeleton will be a great photo opportunity for fami lies, Jeff said.

Crystal Bay Farm’s annual pumpkin patch opens Satur day and will remain open daily 10am-6pm through Halloween. Local band Cement Ship will per form live at the patch this Sunday from 1-5pm.

Lori said she enjoys seeing fam ilies visiting the pumpkin patch year by year.

“I see people who were babies now coming here with their own babies,” she said. “It’s amazing. Maybe I’ll see them only once a year, but I remember them. It’s that connection with our commu nity that we are so lucky to have.”

Crystal Bay Farm is located at 40 Zils Road. Visit crystalbayfarm. com for information and daily hours. Follow on Facebook for daily updates.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Oct. 2: Cement Ship

Oct. 8: Apple City Slough Band

Oct. 15: Josh Lowe & Pattie Maxine

Oct. 16: Michael Gaither

Oct. 22: Toby Grey

Oct. 23: Anthony Arya

Oct. 29: El Quarto Verde, Heavy Blazers, Bucking Donkeys, Dead Kampers

Oct. 30: RayBurn Bros

THIS WAY Crystal Bay Farm’s annual pumpkin patch is open Oct. 1-31.

PERFECT CHOICE Crystal Bay Farm’s annual pumpkin patch is open through October.

Johanna Miller

Johanna Miller

Indoor and outdoor living

Royal Oaks home includes five bedrooms from basement to second floor

This newer Cape Cod home sits on more than an acre of country setting.

Located at 1470 Oak leaf Drive in Royal Oaks, the 2,400-square-foot home includes five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Inside, the first floor includes a river rock hearth, wood stove, read ing nook and bamboo hardwood floors throughout. The upstairs master bedroom features a walk-in

closet and bathroom with sauna and heated towel rack.

The basement has an additional two bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room and fire escape.

The two-car garage is equipped with a 240V electric vehicle charging station.

The home, built in 2007, is listed at $1,095,000 by Coldwell Banker Realty. For information, visit bit.ly/3w13dph.

Banker Realty

OAKLEAF DRIVE A detached two-car garage is among this Royal Oaks home’s features.

Home sales cooling off

Sellers should make efforts to spruce up homes

Abrief retreat in mort gage rates that cre ated a slightly more favorable lending environment pro vided a window of opportunity for California homebuyers and perked up home sales in August for the first time in five months, the Cali fornia Association of Realtors an nounced Sept. 16.

However, in Santa Cruz County, sales continued to fall sharply from last year. While sales rose by 21% compared to July, the number of sales dipped by 34% in August compared to the same time in 2021.

According to numbers released by the Santa Cruz County Associ ation of Realtors, 16 homes sold in Watsonville in August 2022 compared to 31 in August 2021. The average days on the market increased from 23 to 28, and the median sales price dropped from $875,000 to $815,000.

Homeowners looking to sell should be aware of what buyers might notice.

“Getting your home ready for sale may seem like an

overwhelming task, but it’s important to make your home as attractive as possible,” said Bon nie Lee, vice president of property claims at Mercury Insurance. “Not only does it give a favorable first impression, but it also shows that the home was well maintained and cared for. Most buyers expect to tour and eventually purchase a clean, well-cared for home.”

Walk through each room of your home and take note of what needs to be cleaned, repaired or replaced.

Eliminate clutter

For many homeowners the begin ning of the home selling process is the chance to clear out any unwanted items. Take this time to

throw away, donate or sell items that are no longer purposeful. Remember that potential buyers are likely to open closet doors and built-in cabinet drawers to deter mine the amount of storage space available, meaning you won’t be able to simply store unwanted items in a closet. Buyers want to visualize themselves and their belongings within the living space so depersonalize and remove any large visual distractions such as large, distinct artwork or family photos.

Bulkier items such as furniture can change the perceived size of a room. Make sure buyers are able to walk around living spaces with out bumping into furniture. If you don’t plan to take certain large items with you, check if your local municipality will pick them up.

Deep clean your home

Before scheduling tours of your home, do a deep clean, especially in areas like the kitchen and bath rooms. Home buyers are savvy and can detect when candles or air fresheners are being used to mask unpleasant scents of a home.

“A home that hasn’t been cleaned can be perceived as need ing a lot of work or has underly ing serious problems like water or structural damage,” Lee said. “Keeping your home clean will boost that ever-important first impression and maximize the sell ing cost.”

Make small repairs

Wear and tear from everyday living is normal. However, fixing these small repairs before listing your home might be a slight incon venience for you, but might be seen as part of a larger, underly ing issue to a potential buyer. Thor oughly go through each room of your home and touch up any dings on baseboards or doors. Make any minor repairs like filling in and repainting any holes left in the walls from hanging items. Check for leaking faucets or running toi lets and replace any worn or dam aged caulking around sinks, show ers, bathtubs or windows.

Tarmo Hannula/File photo

HOUSING STOCK Homes along Ohlone Parkway and side streets are shown in this Watsonville aerial photo.

Curb appeal

Get a CLUE

Your home’s exterior is the first thing buyers see as they approach the house. Trim any trees or shrubs outside of your property, especially along walkways, for a well-manicured look. Inspect any trees around your home to make sure they aren’t scraping shingles off of your roof or blocking gut ters. Keep walkways and drive ways free of clutter such as gar dening tools or children’s toys. Replace or repair any damaged screens or windows and make sure that any house numbers are visible.

Curb appeal

Your home’s exterior is the first thing buyers see as they approach the house. Trim any trees or shrubs outside of your property, especially along walkways, for a well-manicured look. Inspect any trees around your home to make sure they aren’t scraping shingles off of your roof or blocking gut ters. Keep walkways and drive ways free of clutter such as gar dening tools or children’s toys. Replace or repair any damaged screens or windows and make sure that any house numbers are visible.

“A well-maintained outdoor area that has been properly cared for is not only aesthetically pleas ing but can also be a reflection of how well the home was cared for overall,” Lee said.

“A well-maintained outdoor area that has been properly cared for is not only aesthetically pleas ing but can also be a reflection of how well the home was cared for overall,” Lee said.

A Comprehensive Loss Underwrit ing Exchange (CLUE) report pro vides a detailed history of any insurance claims that may have been filed on the house within the last seven years. While this report is extremely useful to buyers, it can be equally important to sell ers. “Sellers whose homes have had no insurance claims within the last seven years can use a CLUE report as a selling tool. It gives potential buyers the assurance that they are not buying a home with a history of problems and increase a sell er’s chance of selling their home quickly,” Lee said.

Get a CLUE

A Comprehensive Loss Underwrit ing Exchange (CLUE) report pro vides a detailed history of any insurance claims that may have been filed on the house within the last seven years. While this report is extremely useful to buyers, it can be equally important to sell ers. “Sellers whose homes have had no insurance claims within the last seven years can use a CLUE report as a selling tool. It gives potential buyers the assurance that they are not buying a home with a history of problems and increase a sell er’s chance of selling their home quickly,” Lee said.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can request a copy of your CLUE report from LexisNexis by calling 1-866-3128076 or by visiting consumer.risk. lexisnexis.com.

—Brandpoint Content

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can request a copy of your CLUE report from LexisNexis by calling 1-866-3128076 or by visiting consumer.risk. lexisnexis.com.

—Brandpoint Content

HOME MAINTENANCE

Tom Brezsny’s Real Estate of Mind

Provoking thought since 1990

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Tom Brezsny’s Real Estate of Mind

Today’s question? In a market where everything sells quickly and for more money...how does the unthinkable happen? As in: Why are there still places that don’t sell quickly? Ones that languish on the market for a long time before reducing their price?

Provoking thought since 1990

I’m thinking about an Eastside listing that came on recently. The kind of place that checked all the boxes: four bedrooms, single level, large yard. Plenty of buyers were lined up for the first open house, pre-approval letters clutched in their hands. Warm and fuzzy “seller letters” already written in their heads. This one was supposed to fly off the market!

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But then? Nothing happened. Lots of showings. Tons of calls. Hundreds of hits online. But no offers. By the second week, the dynamic shifted. By the third it was completely different. Traffic dwindled to a motley collection of curiosity-seekers, looky-loos and low-ballers starting to smell blood in the water. Finally, a month later, the price came down $100,000 and it sold.

If it fails, it can spray 650 gallons of water per hour into your home. So if you're away for the weekend and a hose bursts, you may open the door to the equivalent of a 20-foot by 40-foot in-ground pool's worth of water, which can damage floors, dry wall and personal items. Between June 2021 and June 2022, State Farm paid nearly $36.7 million to help customers recover from dam age due to washing machine hose bursts, with an average claim of over $12,000. Hose maintenance is easy: Inspect the hot and cold washing machine supply lines monthly, look ing for blisters, worn tubing, cracks or loose connections. It's best to replace supply hoses every 3-5 years.

4. Conduct a generator safety check

LIFE-SAVING Smoke detector batteries need to be replaced at least annually, not just when they chirp.

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So, what happened? Why didn’t it sell in a market where everything sells? What dark and mysterious forces conspired to create a less-than-hoped-for outcome for the unfortunate Seller? More importantly, how can someone else avoid the same situation?

A wise Realtor once said the story of every listing could be written as a Greek play. Each, a real life drama embodying elements of irony, pathos, tragedy and humor. The fickle gods of fate testing the frailties of the human condition. Wait a minute...I said that. And it is still true!

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Upkeep saves homeowners money in the long run

Hubris is the tragic flaw responsible for the downfall of most listings that don’t sell. Too much ego and too much pride makes some Sellers think it’s possible to succeed without really trying. Doesn’t matter what the price is, they figure. Or how a house is prepared for sale. Why fix it up or stage it? All those Buyers are lining up out there.

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But everything sells until it doesn’t. And that’s when it really costs you. Despite how it looks, those Buyers aren’t really tripping over themselves to pay more for your house. They always want to pay less. And if you give them the chance, that’s what they’re going to do.

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While home main tenance may seem pricey, being pro active about home upkeep can save more money by preventing expensive repair or re placement costs in the future—not to mention safeguarding against damage to your home. The hard part is knowing how often and what type of maintenance to do, and where to start.

had working smoke alarms, deaths from U.S. residential fires could drop 36%. Why aren't these smoke detectors working? Primarily miss ing or dead batteries. Smoke detec tor batteries need to be replaced at least annually, not just when they chirp. The average claim from a home fire according to State Farm is $57,000. So buy some batteries, and replace those old ones.

A portable generator is handy equip ment for when the power goes out, and regular maintenance will ensure that it works when you need it. First, always unplug and turn off all power to the generator. Examine the AC wiring and alternator to clear dirt and debris. Inspect the air intake sys tem and replace the air filter. Oil in your generator needs to be changed every 25 hours of running, or one year unused. When you're ready to use the generator, take it outside to a well-ventilated area before start ing up. Generators produce carbon monoxide from the exhaust and can cause serious injury or death if used indoors, in a garage (including with open doors) or even on a porch.

5. Maintain your HVAC

Tom Brezsny

Think of it this way: everything sells, but not everything sells for the most money possible. That’s why you should hire a good agent and resolve to take their advice. If your house doesn’t sell in this market, you can always blame it on the gods or bad timing or a bad agent. But in the end...it’s your own fault.

According to State Farm, fall is the perfect time to take care of many jobs, whether by yourself or by hiring professionals. Here are some top maintenance tasks to help protect the largest investment you have—your home.

1. Check your smoke detectors

According to the National Insti tute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 96% of homes are now installed with smoke detectors. However, nearly 20% of them have non-working smoke alarms. The NIST estimates that if every home

2. Trim your trees

Little known fact, you're respon sible for the damage if a tree on your property falls on a neighbor's house. Or if a dead branch damages your home, it can result in a home owner's insurance claim, meaning you have to pay the deductible. For peace of mind, trim the trees on your property every fall. Find tips on tree trimming at StateFarm. com/simple-insights/residence.

3. Check washing machine hoses

Did you know a washing machine hose holds 70 pounds of pressure?

One of the most critical items to maintain is your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Regular maintenance helps keep the system in working order, extending the life of the system and saving on energy costs. According to HomeAd visor, replacing an HVAC system costs from $5,000 to $10,000.

To save money and extend the life of your system, change air filters regularly. Set a reminder every few months to replace filters. Dirty filters can impede airflow and make the HVAC system work harder, decreas ing efficiency and increasing energy costs.

Tom

Brandpoint Content

Sticky barriers save gardens

Capture pests with these small sheets

By KATE RUSSELL

The California Depart ment of Food and Ag riculture launched emergency action re cently to eradicate ori ental fruit flies found in the City of San Jose, declaring the insects a sig nificant threat to the natural envi ronment, agriculture and economy of the state.

Gardeners in the Pajaro Valley can take action now to protect their gardens from the various pests that can cause critical damage to crops.

Many sap-sucking pests are attracted to yellow and blue. Much the way sticky barriers prevent crawling insects from climbing up into fruit and nut trees, sticky sheets attract and trap many flying insects that might carry death and dis ease to your plants. These sheets are most commonly yellow, which attracts the widest variety of pests. Thrips prefer blue.

Unlike pesticides and other chemicals, insects cannot develop a resistance to stickiness. Plus, sticky sheets do not cause harm to people or pets. The worst that can happen is they will stick to you temporarily.

When an insect lands on the sticky surface, it means death. They can not escape, reproduce, feed or spread disease. They are done, and all you have to do is toss them in the trash.

Sticky sheets can capture a wide variety of pests, including:

• Apple maggots

• Armyworms

• Artichoke plume moth

• Asian citrus psyllids, which carry huanglongbing

• Citrus leaf mining moth

• Codling moth (budbreak; late March to early April)

• Flea beetles

• Fungus gnats, which carry black root rot

• Navel orangeworm moth (mid-March)

• Obliquebanded leafroller (early fruit set; mid-April)

• Omnivorous leafroller (just before budbreak)

• Onion flies

• Orange tortrix (late December)

• Stinkbugs (early April)

• Peach twig borer (March 20-April 1)

• Peach tree borer (April-September)

• Potato psyllids, which carry zebra chip

• Thrips, which carry spot ted tomato wilt and 20 other viral diseases

• Vine mealybugs (April - June)

• Whiteflies

Sticky sheets are often used in tandem with pheromone traps. Pheromones lure the insects closer and the sticky sheet makes them unable to fly away. Whether you use a pheromone trap in conjunc tion with sticky sheets or not, you can use the sticky sheets to monitor for pest populations in and around specific plants or planting beds.

Fruit and nut trees get a lot of protection when sticky sheets are hung in early spring. You can also attach sticky sheets to bamboo poles, trellising or tomato cages. Sticky sheets help you see which pests are new arrivals, which pop ulations are on the rise, and which are on the decline. Capturing pests on sticky sheets makes identifi cation easier since they can’t fly away. You can photograph your pest and contact local Master Gar deners for information about how to most sustainably manage that specific pest without resorting to broad-spectrum pesticides.

The best news about yellow sticky sheets? They’re inexpensive. You can buy sticky sheets online and keep refreshing them over the season. As they fill up with pests that would have been feeding on your garden, simply throw them in the trash. If you are having prob lems with indoor pests, such as fungus gnats, you can always cut the sticky paper into a decorative shape and put it to work for your container plants.

Russell

SIMPLE SOLUTION Yellow sticky sheets attract and capture pests.

PHOTO GALLERY

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

MOODY DECOR The Arredondo Alejo family of Watsonville went the extra step to invite the Halloween mood with a giant skeleton on their front lawn.

QUICK QUACK Young mallards huddle together near the boat ramp at Pinto Lake City Park.

SANDS OF TIME This man creates a large sand sculpture at Seabright State Beach.

by GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

As a young lady awaits the return of her heroic fiancé from war, a disheveled soldier sneaks into her bedroom fleeing the fight. Finding his simplicity more alluring than her fiancé’s arrogant posturing, she’s faced with singling out the real man for her. Will it be the accidental hero who is more toy than soldier? Or the pragmatic coward who comes armed with chocolates instead of bullets? Crackling with wit, irony and charm, Shaw’s anti-romantic comedy pokes fun at the dangers of bravado in battle and idealistic notions of love.

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