Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Strawberries and eight balls

This year's berry crop said to be "one of a kind"

Stehly Farms Organics expects larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8.
Stehly Farms Organics expects larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8.

It’s strawberry season for San Diego farms, meaning baskets of the bright, red fruit will be plentiful in April. Expect to find many locally grown strawberries at farmers markets across the county, and taste the sweetness coming off our wet winter.

Eight ball squash — ideal for stuffing

Up in Escondido, JR Organics says this year’s crop of organic berries offer smell, color, and taste that are “one of a kind.” It will also see summer squashes start to come into season, including zucchini, the straight-neck gold bar squash (also called yellow zucchini), and eight ball squash, which shares the flavors and speckled green skin of zucchini, but with a spherical shape that’s better for stuffing.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Rodney Kawano’s farm in Oceanside also has strawberries and summer squash coming in, plus onions coming midmonth. On the cruciferous side, it continues to furnish broccoli and Brussels sprouts, while vegetable options also include snow peas, carrots, kale, and Swiss chard. Among Kawano’s unusual offerings are mushrooms, with Shitake, oyster, crimini, and white button mushrooms for sale at his market stands.

Loquats, part of the apple family

Bonsall’s Adam Maciel Organic Farm doesn’t offer strawberries, but its loquats are coming back into season. The Maciels see fewer of the tart fruit coming in compared to last year, but they’re also larger. Since these juicy apple relatives don’t ship well, finding them locally is key. On the vegetable side, their market stands will feature the usual assortment of leafy greens, fresh herbs, and root vegetables, including Japanese turnips, which tend to be milder and sweeter, with delicate enough skin that the whole thing can be enjoyed raw.

Past Event

Strawberry U-Pick Festival

  • Saturday, April 8, 2017, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Stehly Farms Organics, 12630 Santa Catalina Road, Valley Center
  • $6 - $7

Out in Valley Center, Stehly Farms has strawberries in a big way, and anticipates larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8. It's seeing the tail end of its orange season, though plenty of blood oranges remain, and it’s prime time for Stehly tangerines. The organic farm’s also beginning to harvest its Hass avocados in April and, vegetablewise, they tell me an asparagus crop “is really poppin right now.”

Second generation California farmer Jerome Stehly founded Stehly Ranch to raise chickens back in 1962. It quickly evolved into one of the area’s larger produce growers, and today the 278-acre ranch grows avocados, citrus, strawberries, blackberries, and assorted vegetables. Stehly’s sons, Jerome and Noel, took over the farm in 2002, and the brothers changed the name to Stehly Farms Organics, to reflect the property’s certified organic designation.

In addition to its Strawberry picking event, the farm opens to the public to pick from its pumpkin patch in October, and hosts a blackberry fest in June. But the farm’s best known for its tree crops. Its Hass and reed harvests are a huge reason San Diego’s the largest producer of avocados in the nation. It also raises quite a lot of citrus fruit, including grapefruit, orange, and tangerine varieties.

Locally, Stehly produce is sold in its proprietary Stehly Farms Market locations in Bay Park and Kensignton, as well as larger grocery outlets such as Jimbo’s, Whole Foods, Cream of the Crop, Seaside Market, and the People’s Market co-op in Ocean Beach.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Half Hour Late lives up to their name at the Template

Deadhead-inflected band right at home in Ocean Beach
Stehly Farms Organics expects larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8.
Stehly Farms Organics expects larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8.

It’s strawberry season for San Diego farms, meaning baskets of the bright, red fruit will be plentiful in April. Expect to find many locally grown strawberries at farmers markets across the county, and taste the sweetness coming off our wet winter.

Eight ball squash — ideal for stuffing

Up in Escondido, JR Organics says this year’s crop of organic berries offer smell, color, and taste that are “one of a kind.” It will also see summer squashes start to come into season, including zucchini, the straight-neck gold bar squash (also called yellow zucchini), and eight ball squash, which shares the flavors and speckled green skin of zucchini, but with a spherical shape that’s better for stuffing.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Rodney Kawano’s farm in Oceanside also has strawberries and summer squash coming in, plus onions coming midmonth. On the cruciferous side, it continues to furnish broccoli and Brussels sprouts, while vegetable options also include snow peas, carrots, kale, and Swiss chard. Among Kawano’s unusual offerings are mushrooms, with Shitake, oyster, crimini, and white button mushrooms for sale at his market stands.

Loquats, part of the apple family

Bonsall’s Adam Maciel Organic Farm doesn’t offer strawberries, but its loquats are coming back into season. The Maciels see fewer of the tart fruit coming in compared to last year, but they’re also larger. Since these juicy apple relatives don’t ship well, finding them locally is key. On the vegetable side, their market stands will feature the usual assortment of leafy greens, fresh herbs, and root vegetables, including Japanese turnips, which tend to be milder and sweeter, with delicate enough skin that the whole thing can be enjoyed raw.

Past Event

Strawberry U-Pick Festival

  • Saturday, April 8, 2017, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Stehly Farms Organics, 12630 Santa Catalina Road, Valley Center
  • $6 - $7

Out in Valley Center, Stehly Farms has strawberries in a big way, and anticipates larger-than-average attendance at its annual Strawberry U-Pick Festival on April 8. It's seeing the tail end of its orange season, though plenty of blood oranges remain, and it’s prime time for Stehly tangerines. The organic farm’s also beginning to harvest its Hass avocados in April and, vegetablewise, they tell me an asparagus crop “is really poppin right now.”

Second generation California farmer Jerome Stehly founded Stehly Ranch to raise chickens back in 1962. It quickly evolved into one of the area’s larger produce growers, and today the 278-acre ranch grows avocados, citrus, strawberries, blackberries, and assorted vegetables. Stehly’s sons, Jerome and Noel, took over the farm in 2002, and the brothers changed the name to Stehly Farms Organics, to reflect the property’s certified organic designation.

In addition to its Strawberry picking event, the farm opens to the public to pick from its pumpkin patch in October, and hosts a blackberry fest in June. But the farm’s best known for its tree crops. Its Hass and reed harvests are a huge reason San Diego’s the largest producer of avocados in the nation. It also raises quite a lot of citrus fruit, including grapefruit, orange, and tangerine varieties.

Locally, Stehly produce is sold in its proprietary Stehly Farms Market locations in Bay Park and Kensignton, as well as larger grocery outlets such as Jimbo’s, Whole Foods, Cream of the Crop, Seaside Market, and the People’s Market co-op in Ocean Beach.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Next Article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.