The Orchard

While planning the orchard we spent some time consulting with local orchardists to determine the best varieties of fruit to grow in our climate here. When we moved the farm, the orchard we had planted at our previous location was just starting to mature and bear fruit. While we were fortunate to inherit some mature fruit trees at our new location, many were standard commercial varieties. Over time, we are gradually replacing some of the less thrifty trees with the heirloom varieties we know and love. It will be a process, but over the next few years we hope to have a most of our favorites listed below replanted here. Some varieties we will be grafting onto existing root stocks. As members of the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) we have access to scion wood from an almost unlimited number of historic heirloom fruit varieties, and by grafting our own trees, the possibilities for the orchard are now endless.

Spring here is usually mild but wet, with most of our annual rainfall occuring between late November and mid-March. In early summer we are prone to morning fog here, although the fog typically burns back to the coast by late morning. When the fog retreats, mid-summer temperatures in this canyon can frequently rise beyond 100 degrees fahrenheit. Although winter is usually fairly mild, we can be occasionally assaulted with temperatures in the teens.

Apples: Ashmead’s Kernal, Allen’s Everlasting, Arkansas Black, Arlet, Black Gilliflower, Bramley’s Seedling, Claygate Pearmain, Cornish Gilliflower, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Cripp’s Pink, Esopus Spitzenburg, Golden Delicious (M7), Golden Russet, Granny Smith, Hauer Pippin, Honey Crisp, King David, Lady Williams, Lamb Abbey Pearmain, Surprise, Thornberry, Yellow Bellflower, all on M-111 root stock unless otherwise noted.

Apricots: ~~Blenheim (Myro 29C)~~ succumbed to bacterial canker in 2013

Aprium: Flavor Delight (Myro 29C)

Cherry: Stella (Colt)

Citrus: Meyer Lemon, Washington Navel

Crab Apple: Chestnut, Humboldt, Niedzwetzkyana, Wickson, all on M-111 root stock

Fig: Brown Turkey Improved

Peaches: Frost (peach leaf curl resistant on Citation), Indian Free (PLC resistant on Citation)

Pears: Blake’s Pride, Bosc, Seckle, Warren (all on OxHF333)

Persimmon: Chocolate

Plums: Santa Rosa, Satsuma (both on Myro 29C)

Pluot: Flavor King, Dapple Dandy (both on Citation), Flavor Supreme (Myro 29C)

Other fruits in the garden area include:

Blackcurrant: ‘Consort’

Blueberries: ‘Jubilee’, ‘Oneal’, and ‘Sharp Blue’

Chilean Guava – Ugni molinae

Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis ‘Laciniata’

Olallieberries

Raspberries: ‘Caroline’, ‘Willamette’, ‘Munger Black Cap’, and ‘Cascade Delight’

Rhubarb: ‘Victoria’, ‘Crimson Red’

Strawberries: ‘Seascape’, ‘Sequoia, ‘Albion’, and ‘Eversweet’