U-pick orchards in the Tehachapi Valley share their luscious bounty.
by Lisa Johns
My grandmother loved autumn. Part of her joy in watching the vestiges of summer fade into the crispness of fall came from our long Sunday drives through the countryside. She never tired of looking out the window or marveling at the vivid colors of the changing landscape. A native of central Wisconsin, she loved the outdoors—the blue skies of October, our long walks in the woods, the piles of leaves. She would hunt for the biggest, most colorful maple leaves, take them home and press them between pages of wax paper in her scrapbook.
As an urban dweller, I know I have to make a conscious effort to spend time in nature, lest I realize all of a sudden that several weeks have passed and I’ve scarcely seen the ocean or spent time among the trees. Those autumnal visits with my grandmother were one of the ways I stayed connected to Mother Earth. In an effort to carry forth my grandmother’s love of nature, as well as maintain my tie to the environment, I decided to start a new tradition for myself, one that involved a popular object of praise—the apple.
Apples are one of the world’s most popular fruits, and when picked fresh from the tree, their goodness-factor goes up by several notches. Not only are they a great source of fiber, their skins contain quercetin, an antioxidant that helps keep the heart and lungs clean.
When I first started my annual apple-picking tradition, I was living in New York City and would travel to Vermont where there were plenty of color explosions in the foliage and a wide variety of apples. I always returned with a bushel or two and baked a bunch of pies. It’s big fun and even though I’ve never been much of a baker (the exactitude of measurements, not my forte), visiting different farms and orchards keeps me close to my roots and reinforces the notion that no matter where we live, we all depend on the earth for survival.
Although the desert landscape of Southern California yields a different kind of seasonal change from the east coast or colorful Midwest, autumn, after all, is apple season, and orchards nationwide are in full swing. Paul Cézanne once proclaimed, “With an apple, I will astonish Paris,” and the farmers of Tehachapi are doing beautiful things with theirs. The Tehachapi Valley is an oasis located in the mountains between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert, just two hours northeast of Los Angeles. The u-pick phenomenon in Tehachapi includes everything from pressing cider stations, corn mazes, hay rides and alpaca farms to enough orchards and pumpkin patches to have me baking homemade pies and canning apple butter from now until Thanksgiving!
A visit to Tehachapi reveals desert blooms, wind farms, plenty of altitude and mountains filled with oak and pine trees, making the excursion a great day-trip for city folk. With a whole host of outdoor activities like horseback riding, ostrich ranches and wine tastings, a trip to Tehachapi is likely to yield more than just a bushel of apples. Most of Tehachapi’s orchards are privately owned, offering a direct and intimate experience with the farmers themselves. It also means that cash will come in handy. The cost of u-pick apples ranges from $1.50 to $2.50 a pound, and just for the record, the federal standard for a bushel of apples is 48 pounds.
With nearly 2,000 varieties of apples currently growing in the United States, it won’t be difficult to find some unique varieties this season, including the tart, crisp and juicy Braeburn, or Arkansas Black, which has a dark purplish fruit with a distinctive aromatic flavor. Depending on what kind your favorite recipe calls for, be sure to call ahead to check availability, as the harvest yields different varieties at different points in the season.
Whatever your plans for the fall, in the spirit of Pablo Neruda’s call to action in his poem Ode to an Apple, “I want to see / the world’s entire population / reunited in the simplest act we know / I want us to bite into an apple,” grab your family members or favorite friend, spend some time in nature and be sure to pick a lot of apples!
Sustainably Farmed Tehachapi
Murray Family Farm: Located between Bakersfield and the outskirts of Tehachapi, Murray Family Farms is the place to go for family fun and year-round u-pick of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Starting in October, the big red barn and its nine surrounding acres are completely decked out with several varieties of pumpkins (also available for u-pick), corn mazes and learning stations where kids (and adults) can learn about spiders, organic gardening or how we all depend on Mother Earth to survive. Steve Murray, a fifth generation farmer, has turned his family’s initial investment of two acres into 380, including two different store locations and 220 total crops. A well-known name among local farmer’s markets, Murray’s utilizes sustainable farming practices, and their autumn excitement will create fond memories for everyone. Open Mon-Sun, 9am-6pm.
Murray Family Farms, 6700 General Beale Road, Bakersfield, CA 92307, 661.330.0100, www.murrayfamilyfarms.com
Foothill Farms: Press your own apple cider at Foothill Farms, where opening day starts October 1. Owner Donna Fischman has also launched Tehachapi Ag & Arts, an organization that promotes independent farmers, ranchers and artists working among the greater Tehachapi community. Foothill Farms provides a great segue to Field of Dreams Alpacas, an alpaca ranch where kids and adults can interact with the fluffy alpacas. Open weekends, 10am-4pm.
Foothill Farms, 21916 State Highway 202, Tehachapi, CA 93561, 661.822.6482
Field of Dreams Alpacas, 18550 Chalet Drive, Tehachapi, CA 93561, 661.557.5737
Moessner Farms: Owned and operated by second-generation German farmers, Moessner Farms features organic produce and a vast array of jams, sauces and pastries. Although there is limited u-pick this year, Moessner’s apple orchard features a dozen different varieties available for purchase in their general store and is a fun stop along the way with traditional (and delicious) German eats. Open Mon-Fri, 1pm-6pm. Sat & Sun, 10am-6pm.
Moessner Farms, 25000 Bear Valley Rd., Tehachapi, CA 93561, 661.821.6272
For a complete list of orchards in the Tehachapi valley, visit the local Chamber of Commerce at www.tehachapi.com
