La Conchita Garden Is Top Banana Again

La Conchita’s Seaside Banana Garden is back in business after shutting down its retail operation for more than a month, as the town dug out from mudslides created by heavy winter rains.

Mud destroyed homes and caused other damage throughout the small coastal town, located along the Ventura Freeway just south of Santa Barbara County. A threat of further damage led to the closure of La Conchita to non-residents from March 4 to April 15, effectively cutting off the garden’s retail business.

“Winter had been long and fairly tough. March and April are traditionally our first strong months,” said Doug Richardson, owner of the 11-acre banana farm, which began operation in 1985. “This was a very unwelcome surprise.”

Equally unwelcome was the mud that buried 40% of one of Richardson’s three banana fields. Even more detrimental were the winds that accompanied the storms.

“The strong winds were our worst problem. Anything in excess of 40 miles per hour is a problem. And we were getting those quite a bit,” said Richardson. “It destroyed about 50% of our crop.” Richardson estimated total storm-related losses at about $200,000.

Seaside Banana Garden grows 60 different types of bananas, the most profitable of which are the Brazilian, Lady Finger, Ice Cream, and Cardaba varieties. As destructive as the elements were during the winter, it is actually the unique weather conditions of La Conchita that enable bananas to be grown there.

Situated between a high bluff and the ocean, the town has its own microclimate. Warm ocean water gives off heat into the atmosphere that settles over the town, and slowly rises, mixing with the cool air. Heat that accumulates during the day, radiates again at night, generally preventing temperatures from dropping below 50 degrees, the minimum temperature for the growing of bananas.