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Rich Colwell , owner of Colwell Thundering Herd Ranch , says demand for citrus has increased , and “ We ’ re having a very good year .”
in-person component for the 2020 event , which ran Nov . 20-22 at the fairgrounds . Safety precautions included mandatory masks or face shields upon entrance , social distancing and no live musical performances to prevent gathering crowds . The festival operated at half capacity , and attendees had to purchase a timed ticket to enter the fairgrounds , where about 120 vendors were spaced 10 feet apart , Gilligan says ; attendance for the event ended up at 5,892 . The festival also included a new virtual marketplace Nov . 16-Dec . 25 , during which customers could order jams , lotions and bags of mandarins online .
“ The mandarins haven ’ t stopped growing because of COVID , and they ’ re actually good for the flu , for colds , so it ’ s a great fruit to have , and people still want them ,” Gilligan says . “ So I was gonna do whatever I could to make sure that we did something . Because if you don ’ t do something , people forget about you . And then you have to go all the way back and start all over from scratch .”
Gilligan says the fruit is left on the trees until they ’ re just right unlike , say , walnuts , where the nuts are shaken from the trees all at once . “ With mandarins , farmers may be picking the same tree for five or six weeks , because they all
mature at different times ,” he says . “ The fruit this year is really sweet because we ’ ve had such warm days , and that creates the sugars inside . We ’ re having a hard time getting them to turn orange , though , because we haven ’ t had the really cold weather , because we need the cold frost to turn the skins orange .”
Staying vibrant despite COVID-19
Sitting under a grapevine-covered canopy , customers at the Flower Farm Cafe chat over craft beers and fresh green salads tossed with ingredients plucked from the garden . To the right of the shaded patio are about 700 citrus trees .
Since the Bowlers purchased the property in 2004 , they ’ ve created an agritourism destination with the orchard , a bed and breakfast , and the event venue . There ’ s also a tasting room owned by Kevin and Ann Stevenson called Casque Wines , and a nursery and gift store owned by Teri Hardoin and Ann Lindner that sells succulents and fresh-cut flowers . It ’ s a place where every business component keeps the farm thriving throughout the year , despite the drop in wedding bookings due to COVID-19 restrictions .
“ We ’ ll produce over 20,000 pounds of citrus this year , but that ’ s between mandarins , lemons , navel oranges , blood oranges and Valencia oranges ,” John says . The citrus is sold at the farm and delivered to area restaurants and cafes , such as Hawks in Granite Bay and Karen ’ s Bakery Cafe in Folsom .
January may be the end of mandarin season , but the Bowlers ’ variety of citrus grown on their farm allows them to keep fresh fruit available longer , with navel and blood oranges ready to be enjoyed fresh or squeezed into mimosas at the cafe this month .
“ What I ’ m most proud of is that we ’ ve created a place where people just enjoy coming here ,” John says . “ If you look around , most people are interacting and just like being here . If there is one positive outcome of COVID , it would be that people realize how important places like this are now .”
Steph Rodriguez is an award-winning journalist and editor . A freelance journalist for more than 15 years , she ’ s written for the Sacramento News & Review , Edible Sacramento , Sacramento Magazine , and Capital Public Radio . Read more at stephrodriguezwrites . com .
34 comstocksmag . com | January 2021