Arroyo Grande -- Central Coast farmers will have their eyes to the sky watching for the rain that is predicted in the forecast this week. Most growers will welcome any rain they get this week, although the forecast isn't predicting much. It calls for a chance of scattered showers with just a ¼ of an inch of rain in some places.
The rain year goes from July 1st to June 30-th and so far this year the Central Coast has had less than a tenth of an inch In the previous year most places in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties got between 50 to 70-percent of the average rainfall.
Tom Ikeda with Ikeda brothers says, "This rain even that they are calling for in the next few days is a cold rain, if it's a cold rain its not bad, especially if it is followed by wind where the plant dries out fairly quickly. It's the warm rains and warm evenings and high humidity that create a perfect condition for plant diseases." Farmers say getting some rain this week means they can rely less on irrigation. Wine grape growers though don't need rain right now in the middle of the harvest and there are some other crops like bell peppers that are prone to mildew.
