Pears in Bloom
Whenever we visit one of our farms it’s a special experience to be so connected to the food we eat. But when the pear trees are in bloom, it’s something beyond. Located in the foothills of Mount Hood, our partner farm Kiyokawa Family Orchards gets to experience the blooming of their pear trees every April and this year we had the chance to experience it too. Imagine waking up in the morning, walking out to your backyard and see blooming white pear trees as far as the eye can see – made somehow even more special with a stunning view of Mount Hood set behind them. That’s what a typical April morning looks like for our head grower Randy Kiyokawa whose house resides in the center of the orchard.
As many know, our fruit is typically available for only short periods of time when it’s at the peak of freshness, but the process to get to that peak season takes many months and lots of tireless work from our fruit growers. While the trees bloom, the farm is still hard at work making sure the fall harvest produces the finest pears you’ve ever had. Pruning back the tree branches is a major task to ensure that the best pears can grow big, juicy and sweet. The team is also hard at work planting new pear trees – did you know some of Randy’s trees that his father planted 70 years ago are still producing incredible fruit we offer every year? If you’ve never had our winter pear varieties, make sure to sign up for our email so you can be the first to know when they’re available this October.
