Blake’s Fruit May 21, 2007

Blake Carlson started his farm in 1985 along with his wife, Lisa. They grow grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, and pluots in the central valley of California. Together with their crew of pickers, they are often out in their orchards hand-selecting their produce for The FruitGuys. Dan, our produce buyer, is receiving the first delivery of Blake’s fruit this weekend. The Zee-fire Nectarines, Spring Snow White Peaches and Sugar Time Yellow Peaches are all from Blake’s family farm, which is near Kingsburg – a town the locals call “the small Swedish community.”

The town was founded in the early 1800s, and 80 percent of the population was Swedish. The main strip in the town center has what Erik, our COO, and bi-lingual German speaker, calls a northern European gemutlekeit – a cozy and friendly feeling. Many of the wooden and decorated buildings have a look that reminds non-Swedish folks like me of meatballs, mid-1970s Volvos and flower-covered Maypoles.

Faster from the farm means fresher to you: Blake and Dan have set up a program this summer whereby Blake will be picking his crop and getting it to us as fast as he can. Generally, he picks for us on the morning of his delivery or the evening prior. That means that many times when Blake’s fruit comes to you, it is just 36-48 hours off the tree. That’s pretty amazing considering most store-bought produce can sit in the supply chain for an average of seven days or more. Blake will be re-supplying us regularly to keep his fruit as fresh as possible for you.

Enjoy and be fruitful! – Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com