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How to best view the Blossom Trail, and the organic farm stand to visit on the way

KVPR: Soreath Hok

One of the best times to view agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley is right now, when many fruit and nut orchards are in full bloom. The peak time to view the blossoms is typically the last week of February and the first week of March. KVPR’s Soreath Hok visited an organic fruit farm along Fresno County’s iconic Blossom Trail and produced this audio postcard.

‘It's like a sea of flowers’ - best Blossom Trail views beginning this weekend, through the first week of March 

KVPR: Soreath Hok

“There's beautiful gardens everywhere, but there's not many places it's like a sea of flowers, literally for miles and miles,” said Jonathan Avedian, a Community Development Specialist with Fresno County.

“The orchards, when they're in full bloom, is just like a sea of color; intense pinks, light pinks, that’s a very unique feature that we have.

“[The] County of Fresno has, as of right now, the number one ag county in the nation. But all the tree fruits, almonds, nectarines, peaches, plums, apricots, pluots, all have a blooming cycle that happens right about this time of year.”

“Having a tree bloom is one thing. Having just a full orchard in bloom, visually, is a very unique experience if you've never seen it and it really shows that there's more to agriculture than just the stuff you get in the grocery store. There's visual beauty to what goes into producing the food, as well as the wonderful fruit that we produce.

“Well, the trail is a driving route. That's one thing, a lot of people think, 'oh, how long does it take for? me to walk the trail?' Well, it's 60 miles. So if you're going to walk it, plan on taking a couple days.

“Best place to start to plan your trip is our website, which is www.goblossomtrail.com.

“And, you know, there's a whole industry supporting from the farmer, to the laborers that pick the fruits, the packing houses that pack it up and ship it to the grocery stores. The farmers that have their farm stands at their facility and sell directly to the public, or take it to farmers markets where you can get the freshest and the best of the best. It's really, you know, a huge part of our economy."

‘Those are the blooms that become our beautiful stone fruit,’ - visiting Sweet Girl Farms along the Blossom Trail in Reedley

Liset Garcia, owner and operator of Sweet Girl Farms in Reedley
Liset Garcia, owner and operator of Sweet Girl Farms in Reedley

“A lot of people do come by [our farm stand], but it specifically happens during the blossom season because people come and take pictures. It's nice to get out and just see all of the fields because eventually, those are the blooms that become our beautiful stone fruit in the summertime,” said Liset Garcia, owner and operator of Sweet Girl Farms in Reedley.

“She had me at cherries. That's the first thing I bought here, was cherries,” said Reedley community volunteer Darlene Toews.

Liset: Yeah, Darlene has been a supporter since the early days of the farm stand. She's been coming out on a weekly basis.

Darlene: I mean, you got pumpkin seeds, peanuts. Sometimes she has things that you can't get in a supermarket.

Liset: Like the fava beans, the different types of dill that I carry, or specialty cucumbers. A lot of people are customers at the beginning, but they become friends, just like Darlene and I have become really good friends after.

Sweet Girl Farms is open year round in Reedley.
Sweet Girl Farms is open year round in Reedley.

Liset: When she sees me running out into the fields, like that 'Wait, hold on. Hold on. I'll go and harvest it for you.’ It's really gratifying for me and the customer because they see me in action actually harvesting everything and it's direct. So, it's really fresh and I feel it makes the interaction really cool.

Darlene: Most places already have [the produce] all out and it's been sitting there for a while, but she'll go out there and make sure it's fresh, fresh. So that's really, really good. Especially for us that like to cook. We see it in our palates when we taste it, a big difference from buying it from the store and having it picked fresh.

Liset: having the responsibility of growing and then sharing it. I think the sharing part is really cool. That's how I've been able to have really cool interactions and then meet a lot of people and then make friends. So it really does become more than just a storefront.

Soreath Hok is a multimedia journalist with experience in radio, television and digital production. She is a 2022 National Edward R. Murrow Award winner. At KVPR she covers local government, politics and other local news.