It never rains in Southern California - why do we grow tomatoes there?

Quiz

Which of the three climate graphs is typical of the weather in Northern California?

How to use a climate graph

The precipitation is shown with blue bars. You can see how much it rains at the left scale. The temperature is shown with a red line, and you can see how hot it is at the right scale. At the bottom scale you can find the different months. When the temperature is higher than the precipitation, these months are called arid. When it is the other way round, these months are called humid.
California is not suitable for agriculture at all.
1. That´s right. It is too dry and too hot to grow any crops or vegetables.
2. That´s wrong. There is plenty of water in California but it rains in the wrong places and it is needed at another time of the year.
3. That´s wrong. California is ideal for growing crops: It is warm there all year long, so that a lot of crops and vegetables can grow there.
Some of the best farmland can be found in California´s Central Valley. But it is very dry there and water needs to be ...
1. ... saved so that it cannot be used on the fields because people need it in their households.
2. ... saved there, so people are adviced to be careful with using their water properly.
3. ... transported through a system of reservoirs, dams, canals, and aqueducts.
California is the state that ...
1. ... produces most of the agricultural goods in the USA.
2. ... is number two in producing agricultural goods, after Texas.
3. ... produces least of the agricultural goods because it is too dry there.
Over 250 crops are grown in California. For example
1. artichokes
2. watermelons
3. grapes
4. tomatoes
There is a trend of growing tomatoes in California. Why?
1. Because the climate is perfect for growing all kinds of crops.
2. Some scientists found out how to create tomatoes that have thicker skin, so that they can be picked by machines.
3. It will even get easier in the future to harvest the tomatoes because they are working on inventing cube- like tomatoes.
4. Much of the land in California is owned by huge companies that also own food- processing factories and marketing companies.