Let’s start 2023 off right with a harvest of one of the finest avocados of all time: Fuerte.
I had thought of waiting another week to pick, but after I tasted the beauty pictured above and it contained every bit of flavor you could hope for, I could not delay.
This Fuerte, and those I will pick for you, come from Shady Lane Farm in Fallbrook, San Diego County.
Fuerte was brought up from Mexico by Carl Schmidt 112 years ago, and it is still many people’s favorite variety. The owner of Shady Lane Farm, in fact, has a special affinity for this heritage variety because Fuerte was his father’s favorite avocado.
Interested in tasting Fuerte avocados for the first time? Know how good Fuertes are and need your seasonal fix? Head over to the order page for details.
Learn more about the Fuerte variety in my profile.
Hear my take on how the Fuerte avocado really got its name.
(As always, Supporters get first dibs. Sale will be opened to all on Friday at 6 PM.)
Where else have you seen quality Fuerte avocados being sold? I know that Eli’s Farm Stand in Fallbrook has them now.
Fuerte has always been my favorite. My parents planted a grove of Fuertes back in the ’40’s, and as kids, we would have avocados all the time. We took them for granted. Now I have a Holiday and a Fuerte planted right next to each other. And even though I have a Fuerte tree, I’m going to place an order. Crazy, huh? Thanks, Greg, for all the info you provide on lots of garden stuff! Really appreciate it.
Thanks, Julianne. While I can see how it would sound crazy to some people, I’m in the same boat. I still buy avocados all the time just to see how they taste compared to mine, or to store those on my tree for longer, or to share with friends. We may be a little crazy, but I bet we’re not the only ones!
Thank you so much for all your efforts, Greg! Can’t wait to try these delicious avocados. Also glad to hear that I’m not the only one buying/ordering prime avocados just to enjoy and share, so thanks to you and Julianne for that. Still very tempted to plant a Fuerte here on the mid-Peninsula near San Francisco. While we do have great weather most of the year, it’s still NorCal, so it may be too cold during flowering time for Fuerte to really set a good crop.Who knows, maybe these fruit can persuade a skeptic? So far a young Hass and (oddly?) Nabal are doing awesome here.
Wow!!! Shady Lane Farm is my neighbor and their fruit is AMAZING! I have never seen fruit this beautiful! No wonder it’s sold out already! They will NOT disappoint!
They have arrived. Really interesting to see the shape and the non-symmetrical bottom. Now I think I can identify one in the wild. Can’t wait to taste it since they don’t grow well in norcal (at least not here at the coast where it doesn’t get warm enough).
Thanks for providing the chance to try them!
You’re very welcome, Dan. Hope you like them. I’ve been thinking of you and how much rain you’ve probably been getting up there.
I sent you a few pictures of what’s happened on our street. overall, not so bad. Norcal has a pretty significant natural network of creeks, streams and rivers from centuries of rain that move the water effectively as long as we have breaks between storms. Which has been the pattern. Really different from places like Montecito that haven’t had those waterways naturally built up. The real problem for us is the surf. A few of the piers are badly damaged. All built around the same time and all suffering from lack of maintenance, so they are failing after ~150 years. Rising ocean levels don’t help….