California

The Gamble of Early Summer Fruit

By Chris Mittelstaedt on May 9, 2023

Long ago I wondered why slot machines used cherries as the winning images for hitting the jackpot. It didn’t make sense to me. Maybe a dollar sign, or a star, but cherries? It seemed odd. Yet a …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: California, cherries, cherry harvest, cherry trees, chill hours, stone fruit, summer fruit

Less Time to Chill

By Pia Hinckle on April 23, 2015

Cherries are finicky trees. They don’t like it when it gets too hot, when there’s not enough rain, and when it doesn’t stay cold enough during the winter. For the last few winters, California’s …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, california drought, Central Valley, cherries, chill hours, chilling, drought, fruit trees, warm winters

Buy a Box; Save an Apple

By Miriam Wolf on July 25, 2014

Like the snowy owl and the snail darter, foods can be endangered too. If farmers stop growing your favorite variety of tomato because it’s too hard to ship or too prone to pests, we come that much …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, endangered, Farms, GoodWorks, gravenstein apples, sebastopol, SlowFoods, special

New Family Farm of Sebastopol, California, was one of six farms awarded grants in April 2013 from The FruitGuys Community Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives. An outgrowth of …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, draft horses, family farm, farm horses, fruitguys community fund, horsepower, horses on a farm, new family farm, organic farming, sebastopol, sonoma county, sustainable farming

GMO Labeling Initiative

By Chris Mittelstaedt on October 27, 2012

The FruitGuys supports California’s Prop 37, the “Right to Know” GMO (genetically modified organism) labeling initiative. This issue is important to Americans everywhere, not just in California. YES …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, consumer choice, genetically modified, gmo, GMOs, prop 37, proposition 37

Are You Eating GMO Foods?

By Charlene Oldham on September 13, 2012

Food labels can be a consumer conundrum for health-conscious shoppers trying to steer clear of sugar, saturated fat, and foods packed with preservatives. If you buy your groceries in California, you …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: California, G.M.O., genetically modified, genetically modified organisms, GM, gmo, GMO foods, gmo fruit, GMO vegetables, GMOs, how to avoid GMO, non-gmo, prop 37, proposition 37, what's GMO

Ode to a Grav Grower

By Pia Hinckle on August 14, 2012

Lee Walker has been farming with his family in their Graton, CA, apple orchard his whole life, except for a tour in the army and a few years playing pro baseball. Lee has kept growing Gravenstein …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: apple orchard, California, graton, Gravenstein, Gravenstein Apple Presidia, gravenstein apples, gravenstein box, gravenstein orchard, gravs, lee walker, slow food russian river, sonoma county, walker apples, walker family

The Lemon Lady

By FruitGuys Staff on February 2, 2012

Karen Morss is called the Lemon Lady. She started her suburban Emerald Hills, CA (San Mateo County), an organic citrus farm, Lemon Ladies Orchard, in 2004. She has done her part breaking glass …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: California, farm, farming, karen morss, ladies, Lemon Ladies, Lemon Ladies Orchard, lemon orchard, meyer lemons, organic, organic farming, organic grower, organic growing, organic lemons, women

The Grav-ity of Change

By Chris Mittelstaedt on August 14, 2011

Change has come slowly but steadily to the foods we’ve eaten over the last 70 years. While there has been no acute onset to clearly demonstrate the difference between the food of today and yesterday, …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: apples, California, fall, Gravenstein, gravenstein apples, gravenstein history, sonoma county

128th Avenue Freeze Out

By Chris Mittelstaedt on February 28, 2011

Planning farm visits into California’s Central Valley can be fun. The farmers we work with always remind me of the directions. “Chris, when you come out here, make sure that you take Road 204 but only …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: California, Central Valley, cold snap, farmland, frost, rural roads

LBAM—Two Countries, One Moth

By Chris Mittelstaedt on October 25, 2010

I try to stay out of agricultural politics. I’d rather support farmers by buying their wonderful produce without having to testify on their behalf. Sometimes, however, circumstances land on your …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: agricultural politics, apple farm, apples, blue moon organics, California, farmers, light brown apple moth, New Zealand, quarantine

Pest Policy Questioned: Panelists say Quarantines Unfair to California Farmers

By Pia Hinckle on June 16, 2010

The Light Brown Apple Moth is an indigenous pest considered harmless to crops in New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia, and the UK, all countries that are free to export fruits and vegetables to U.S. markets …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: alliance to stop the spray, article, blue moon organics, California, chris mittelstaedt, commonwealth club, farming, LBAM, light brown apple moth, pesticides, quarantine, stop the spray

Award-Winning Gravenstein Apple Pie

By The FruitGuys on October 27, 2009

Here's a recipe for a prize-winning homemade apple pie! Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce Apple Pie Baking Contest 2008 Grand Champion Kayleigh Stump's Apple Pie Recipe INGREDIENTS Crust …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Recipes Tagged With: apple pie contest, award winning apple pie recipe, California, crust lattice, dessert, Gravenstein, how to make, view from the bay