Roadside farm stands sprout up around Fallbrook

Fallbrook has long been a good area for producing food, from citrus and olives to honey and olive oil, then tomatoes and avocados. When my family moved to Rainbow in June 1975, we had 35 avocado trees and close to a dozen tangelo trees, as well as one each of loquat and kumquat. My dad added peach, fig, apricot, and plum trees.

When he was growing up in Los Angeles, Dad helped out at his family’s produce stand on Ventura Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley during the summer months. He was in charge of keeping the stand supplied with peaches, tomatoes, and melons.

So, it is not surprising that when Dad planted his big garden in Rainbow and had excess zucchini, tomatoes, and Italian cucumbers, he sold them at our own roadside stand near the end of our driveway. People were amazed that he could sell zucchini, which always grew abundantly, and that most of the time he just left a can out at the stand for payment. Most people paid what they owed; he figured if anyone took food without paying, they couldn’t afford to.

(We had a lot of out of town visitors going up and down Rainbow Heights Road, who liked fresh, vine-ripened produce.)

That roadside stand went away when Dad couldn’t garden anymore, but people still remember him for his fresh tomatoes. Elsewhere in the area, olive trees have made a comeback and the growing of wine grapes has become more common, but fruit and vegetables are also being grown on a bigger scale.

Consequently, roadside produce stands are also making a comeback. One of the newest here in Fallbrook opened April 8 at 3270 #A Olive Hill Road (1.2 miles from South Mission Road, on the left side). Seven acres of the property are being cultivated by Billy Woodson who started his Olive Crest Farms in July 2014.

Woodson grew up in Santa Clara and went into the aerospace industry, but ended up working for an international company selling coconut-based soil products when he moved down here in 2001. His father also planted vegetable gardens and his uncle has a vineyard in Sonoma County, but Woodson’s interest in agriculture has grown in the last few years.

“I’ve always had a passion for food and vegetables, and have seen the need for local food, community-based, unique food varieties,” he said.

His goal is to “connect people with the food my wife and I love.” Much of his produce are heirloom varieties. He explained that heirloom means they are grown from open pollinated seeds that have not been modified (as opposed to genetically modified seeds, a.k.a. GMO seeds), so a natural selection is created which produces stronger, better varieties. The seeds that are produced by these fruits and vegetables can be saved and planted next year, unlike GMO-produced seeds.

While there are 1,000 varieties of tomatoes, Woodson grows 31 heirloom varieties. He said he wants to go back to the way his grandfather and forefathers would have farmed. For him, his farm is “far more about feeding the community then making a business.” He wants people to be able to recreate restaurant meals by getting the same heirloom ingredients at his stand.

His current crops include onions, leeks, rainbow chard, kale, beets, carrots, heirloom garlic, heirloom corn, beans, peas, kale sprouts, Brussels sprouts andsquash. The stand is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Woodson’s produce will also be available at Valley Fort’s Sunday Farmers Market, which is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Woodson can be reached at (760) 473-0032.

Other local roadside stands include Eli’s Farms at 2929 E. Mission Rd., accessed from Capra Way. Now open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., their seasonal produce includes strawberries, lettuce, broccoli or broccolini, spinach, Hass or Fuerte avocados, Valencia oranges, Eureka lemons, kale, kumquats, mint, raspberries, Star Ruby grapefruit and peas. Eli’s Farms can be reached at (760) 483-3276 or visit http://www.elisfarms.com.

Opened March 14, Kenny’s Strawberry Farm is at 953 Rainbow Valley Blvd., accessed from Old Highway 395, and is open year round Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It offers ‘U pick’ crops including strawberries, corn, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, watermelon and more. Kenny’s Strawberry Farm can be reached at (888) 236-0101, [email protected] or visit http://www.temeculavalleystrawberryfarms.com/u-pick-strawberries.

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