Dry farmed cucumbers?

While walking around a field that we spread wood chips on, I ran across some volunteer cucumbers growing.

It is October and it never rains in the summertime, so these cucumbers germinated and grew with no rain and no irrigation, amazing.  Also they are deep green and very healthy.  The cucumbers in our greenhouse died several weeks ago from powdery mildew.  Yet these "field" cukes have no powdery mildew.  Maybe a deer ate a large cucumber we threw away and deposited the seeds in a pile of fertilizer?

Seeing how well these volunteer cukes look, I will try to see how to plant a large bed of dry farmed cucumbers, next year.

Same cukes as above.  Notice the "planting" of cukes on the right is water deprived.

Our greenhouse cukes died and dried up a few weeks ago due to powdery mildew.

Tilling Wood Chips into Vegetable Fields

AVF CA HSP Video report Sep2108

Ananda Valley Farm trialed tilling wood chips into vegetable fields as part of a California Healthy Soil Program (CA HSP) grant. This video summarizes the result from the 1st year in September 2018.

Contrary to much gardening and farming advice to not till wood chips into beds, we have found it can be beneficial with some caveats.

As part of our grant, we need to show farmers have seen this video. Could you add a comment below with your farm name and whether you might try some of these techniques? THANKS

Also we will be hosting a Field Tour Oct. 20, 2018 Saturday from 11am to Noon.
You can come by and see how we grow and our trial results in person.
Please rsvp by emailing AnandaValleyFarm@gmail.com.
We are in Half Moon Bay, CA (google maps finds us.)