FARM TOUR 2022: MAYWOOD FIG FARM

Maywood Farm is located off of I-5 in Corning, CA about 50 miles south of Redding. Once famed for its olive production, Corning is now home to endless almond and walnut groves. This is following the pattern seen in other agricultural areas throughout CA. Replace high labor fruit trees with low labor, high water-use nut trees that can be exported throughout the world. However, some fruit growers still remain.

Bob Steinacher has been growing Figs at Maywood Farm since the late 80’s. With financial support of his family, Bob left his home in the Bay Area to set out and be a farmer. Land was affordable in Corning and the local farm advisor board was looking for someone to come in and grow figs. So, figs it was! 

Initially, he grew black missions on just a few acres for dried fruit which was very popular in the 90s. Then one day, Joe Carcione "The Green Grocer" reached out to Bob with the prospect of selling his fresh figs to the local Italian population in San Francisco. This was successful and eventually expanded to New York and Montreal, Canada. 

In the mid-90’s he converted to organic and began planting more acreage. They are able to simply propagate off of existing trees by cutting a limb and sticking it in a pot with damp soil. This prevents them from ever having to go to a nursery to buy trees. Eventually Bob cut ties with the green grocer as well as other brokers and began handling all packing and marketing himself. Fast forward to 2022 and Maywood farm is currently over 150 acres, services the greater US, and exports as far as Taiwan.

This was the first season Bob experimented with using compost tea in lieu of traditional amendments and has it exceeded his wildest expectations. He explained to us that he could not believe how amazing the trees looked after administering the tea (which he has done 3 times this season already) and that he plans to continue this practice along with adding compost as topsoil in the fall. Like any great organic grower, he is focused on the health and biology in his soil. 

Last season was tough on Maywood. Low yields, short season, and almost no labor. This year, Bob was pleased to find that he had over 200 applicants to come work for him. He has more fruit coming off than he can physically process. They pick every single tree clean of all ripe fruit every two days! About 20% of their yield goes to processing which you can see laid on rows of wooden trays basking in the sun. A gradient starting with brown dried fruit on one end, fresh fruit on the other, and everything else in between. 

We were lucky enough to try some unique and heritage varieties that he is growing in collaboration with UC Davis. Some very old Turkish varietals that still require the fig wasp for pollination (all modern varieties are self-pollinating), huge ripe green figs that only have numbers for a name and taste like honey, and his candy stripes, which are mysteriously converting back to Kadota figs on all new growth. 

As we drove around the acreage on his ATV, Bob explained his history and plans to retire in the near future. Pulling over to check in with the field supervisor in half Spanish / half English, Bob reaffirmed him that the block they were working looked very beautiful and they were doing great work. We drove past the wind turbines he recently installed to prevent frost damage. Two Red Tailed Hawks were perched on top. He explained they help with the gophers - Maywood’s greatest pest threat. Then past the massive solar panels which power over 90 percent of the farm. Finally, the small, modest, but pristine packing shed. 

Here they have 2 pack lines where bulk product comes in 20-pound plastic lugs, gets hand sorted and packed in boxes. They then get palletized, put into a 34-degree pre cooler, and finally moved into a staging area for pick up. There were at least 20 pallets from the day’s harvest. Bob and his family were so thrilled and appreciative for the visit. Enjoy Maywood Figs, weather dependent, through September.