Posted on : July 10th, 2018
One of the nice things about living in Chico, CA is how closely connected almost the entire community is to the lifecycles of our local produce. Nuts, of course, are a big deal in this area and the almond orchards draw people out to the countryside throughout the year. One of my favorite times is Bloom Season, which is when the trees welcome the end of Winter by bursting into white and light pink blossoms long before Spring has even arrived. The trees are pollinated by our friends, the bees, and then from March to June, the almonds grow and start to mature. Fuzzy green fruits appear and inside shells are hardening and kernels start to form. And then it’s summertime!
Summer is when the excitement really starts to grow. In July and early August, the almond hulls begin to split open exposing the almond shells inside and allowing them to start to dry. We can check them out to make sure everything is going okay but they’re not ready to eat just yet. Still, it’s hard not to start looking ahead to harvest time, our favorite season of all, when the almonds are already starting to crack open! Shortly before harvest, the hulls will open completely. Most people think of harvest time as being in the Fall (September – October) but it frequently happens as early as late August, so we keep a sharp eye on the trees to know when to begin.
It’s a real blessing to grow almonds here in Chico. Almond trees only produce well in specific growing conditions. You need fertile, well-drained soils, cool winters, and long, hot, dry summers. If summer is too cool or the humidity is too high, the almond fruit can rot on the trees! But we have little fear of that in Chico! The weather so many people complain bitterly about here is just perfect.
Maisie Jane’s California Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded on strong beliefs and passion for offering unique, flavorful, top-quality, nut products. We strongly believe in earth-friendly practices that start on our family-owned and operated orchards. We use organic farming practices and continue in the process by using all-natural ingredients with no preservatives or GMOs. We believe in honest, friendly and helpful customer relations at all levels. We take pride in every task, every day, with every person.
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