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Harvest of the Month
​October

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Apples

Let's learn all about Apples

  • Color: Apples come in many different colors, such as green, yellow, brown, and red. Just like picking out your favorite crayons, you can choose apples in different colors to enjoy different flavors.
  • Shape: Apples are typically roundish, oblate, or oblong shapes with a cute dimple at the top where the stem grows. This round-shaped fruit has more chance of bouncing on the ground and rolling to a different area where it can sprout.
  • Flavor: Apples might be sweet, tart, or a little of both. Some offer hints of cinnamon spice. Others are aromatic and have a honey-like flavor. The skin and the flesh taste slightly different so be sure to eat them both.
  • Ripening: You will never have to cut a ripe apple from the tree. Check the seed color; the seeds in an apple will generally turn brown then the apple is ripe.
  • Harvest: California apples are harvested from late August through October. The main growing areas are the counties along the upper Sacramento Valley and river delta and Mendocino, Lake, and El Dorado counties.


Fun Fact: Apples are actually a part of the Rose family.


Featured Apple Grower:
​ Cuyama Orchards,
​ Santa Barbara County

Family Business

Eric (top) and Gregory (bottom right) Albano thin apples on the farm with their crew boss Augustin (bottom left) in the early summer


in Let's Learn about Cuyama Orchards


Cuyama Orchards got its roots in 1992 when Howard and Jean Albano plowed under 20 acres of hay in front of their farmhouse and planted Nagafu Fuji apples that had just made their entrance to the US from Japan.

By 1997, they had 80 acres of Fuji and Pink Lady apples in production when they partnered with their son Byron to handle the sales and marketing. Together they developed an enthusiastic local following for the excellent apples that Howard and Jean were producing. In 1999 they completed transitioning to certified organic production and continued expanding their orchards to meet the burgeoning demand for their fruit.

Cuyama in Santa Barbara County, and is nestled in the uppermost reaches of the Cuyama Valley in a rugged mountainous corner of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in California.

The Cuyama Family offers a variety of apples


Let's Enjoy Apples

Plans to share a sliced apple with your coworkers, midday? Try this preparation technique for an easy grab-and-go way to enjoy the fruit later in the day!


Contact Us

For more info on The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program, contact Carol Stewart at [email protected]

For general info, School Bulletin suggestions, or questions about your Nutrition Education materials, contact The School Team at [email protected]

fruitguysfarmtoschool.com