Living the Fruitful Orchard Life in Sebastopol California

The Fruitful Orchard Children's Book Series is inspired by my family's working orchard in beautiful Sonoma County, California.

Bud break in Sonoma County is such a special time of year. Most people think of our acclaimed wine region and their thoughts go directly to grapes, but I am referring to the bud break for apples.  

Sonoma County grows a large variety of apples including Golden Supreme, Greenings, Bellflower, Winter Banana, Northern Spy, York Imperials, Winesap, Granny Smith, Pippin, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Macintosh, and Pink Lady to name a few. Even with this stellar crowd of apple varietals, one apple takes center stage in Sonoma County, the Gravenstein Apple.

Our apple orchard was planted over 30 years ago with fifty-plus fruit trees with a particular affection for the Gravenstein apple. They stand tall and proud producing the most gorgeous and delicious apples every year. Gravenstein apples thrive in the ideal growing conditions of Sonoma County, specifically in Sebastopol where our orchard resides. The warm summer days followed by the coolness of the fog that rolls in each evening from the Pacific Ocean allow the fruit to ripen and develop a soft sweetness.

The Gravenstein apple ripens early with harvest occurring as early as late July and early August, a good month or two ahead of most fall-harvest apples. It is considered a good “old-fashioned” apple because of its all-purpose versatility good for eating, cider, apple sauce, and pie.

At the moment, I am just enjoying the beautiful blossoms and the beginning of the growing season. Stay tuned for the next post and the history of the Gravenstein apple.