Devoto Gardens & Orchards

10/01/2026

Spotlight on Grenadine! This varietal is a CA original, developed by Albert Etter at his experimental orchard in Humboldt County in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Years after Etter died, his orchard and Rosetta Series apples were salvaged by pomologist, Ram Fishman of Greenmanyle nursery, where the varieties were commercialized for sale to other farmers. We are so grateful to get to continue working with Etter’s work from nearly a century ago! What a gift to the world!

The Grenadine is a newish variety for us, and we’re very pleased by how hard, acidic, and flavorful it is. This is the one and only weekend you will find it at the market! 💗

Nugget and Brisket also approved. 🐾😋

10/01/2026

Happy October y’all! This apple season has proved to be an early one, with some late season varieties starting to show. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find this week at our farmers markets:

🍎 Starking - a literal branch offshoot of the Red Delicious, found in 1921 in New Jersey by a guy named Lewis Mood. Known for its sweet, honey-kissed flavor

🍏 Pippin - the Newtown Pippin is thick skinned, full of acidic bite, and nice and hard. Great for many tart apple type applications.

🍎 Winesap - these are apples of character, full of tart/ sweet bite. Dating back to colonial times, this apple was very popular in the 18th century for eating, cooking and making c***r.

🍎 Grenadine - a super dense and characteristic red fleshed variety developed by Albert Etter. With almost a watermelon-rose flavor, this apple stores well and is great in baking applications.

🍏 Mutsu (last week!) - I’m always surprised for how long these stay ripening on the tree, if we don’t get to them first :). The late season Mutsus are mama nature’s sweet gift to apple lovers.

🍏 Golden Delicious - a sweet, crispy and friendly apple variety, often found in grocery stores. This apple originally hails as a chance seedling from Virginia, circa early 1900’s, on J.M. Mullins farm in Clay County. It became the WV state fruit in 1995.

🍏 Gold Rush - this is a fan favorite hybridized apple varietal dating back to 1945, when three universities (Purdue, U of Illinois, and Reutgers) came together determined to make an incredible tasting, disease resistant variety that lasts a long time. Gold Rush officially came to market in the early 90’s. Within the past several years, we finally got our hands on some pieces of scion wood and the rest was history.

🍎 Fuji - one of the most popular sweet and crunchy apples you can find. Originally developed by the Tohoku Research Station in 1939 in Fujisaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, this apple has reached far and wide! We really enjoy growing them, as they’re one of our late season varietals that just gets sweeter and just as crisp as we enter the cold months.

🍎 Pinova - sweet, crispy, delightful guava type vibes. This apple was developed in Germany.

09/25/2026

This past week was one of our biggest harvests ever, having picked over 900 boxes of fruit between farmers markets, wholesale deliveries, and c***r makers. Here are some apple highlights:

🍎 Crimson Gold (new variety alert, very limited availability). This variety is a farm favorite. It’s nice and crunchy, acidic, and very sweet. It’s another Etter variety that was developed in the 1940’s in Humboldt county, originally named “Little Rosybloom,” and cross between a Yellow Newton and Esopus Spitzenburg. During the patent application, the name and variety were almost lost when Etter died in 1950. Luckily, in the ‘70’s this variety was rediscovered on a single surviving limb of an old Etter test orchard. Try this amazing apple if you see it!

🍏 Newtown Pippin (pictured above, first week). Discovered near Queens, NY, in the late 17th or early 18th century, the Newtown Pippin is sweet, tart, and great at storing through the cold months (this is a good apple to stock up on!). It’s great in all applications- eating out of hand, baked goods, and c***r.

🍎 Wickson (height of season). This CA original was developed by Albert Etter in Humboldt county in the 1940’s, and is the cutest little apple that we grow. It’s very crunchy, acidic, and sweet, and makes the cutest little apple snacks. They’re adorable on a charcuterie board, in a cocktail, or as a mini caramel apple. They’re great to eat out of hand, too.

🍎 Jonathan (last week). A classic 19th century heirloom hailing originally from the Midwest, the Jonathan is a bit spicy, sweet/ tart, and exceptionally juicy. Think apple butter, apple sauce, apple cake, apple juice…. This apple is mellow textured but when processed becomes an entirely beautiful experience.

🍏 Mutsu (last week). These large hybrid apples are just so good and versatile and sweeter than ever this week. Get them while you still can!

🍏 Golden Delicious. It’s almost hard to call these ‘Golden Delicious’ because they don’t taste anything like those mushy flavorless goldens you find in grocery stores. In fact, we did a side by tasting of these and ‘Hawaii’ and the consensus was on the Golden

09/23/2026

09/18/2026

Fall equinox is upon us and the apples are fully expressing their flavors this time of year. Here are some of this week’s highlights that can be found at Bay Area Farmers Markets (link in bio):

🍎 Wickson (first harvest of the season, pictured above with a Mutsu apple!). This tiny CA original apple was first bred by famous plant breeder Albert Etter in Humboldt County, circa 1940’s. It packs an incredible crunch and punch of flavor and sugar, boasting up to 25% Brix. It’s an apple that truly makes you dance when eating it. It’s that good.

🍏 Mutsu (the biggest apple pictured above). They’re in their late season stage right now, which means the best flavor expression. I go for the yellowish ones that are extra sweet!

🍎 Red Gold. This rare apple cultivar was developed by plant breeder, Schell, in Washington circa 1940’s, and is believed to be a cross between the Golden and Red Delicious apples. It’s a super tasty dessert apple and nothing at all like those you would find in the store.

🍎 Esopus Spitzenburg. Circa NY 1770’s. This apple was planted at Thomas Jefferson’s ‘Monticello’ and was believed to be an original ingredient in the Waldorf salad. It’s a blocky, sweet, and absolutely delightful apple, exceptional for everything application, including eating raw, baking, c***r…

🍏 Hawaii: a delightful sweet dessert apple that resembles pineapple, with a dash of pink blush on the golden skin.

🍎 Jonathan: a favorite for baked and processing applications! Think apple cake, galettes, apple butter, c***r, etc.

09/03/2026

September is for apples! This week, we have some exciting annual debuts, including:

🍎 Hawaiian (first week, Pictured here!): known for its crispy texture, sweet pineapple-like flavor, and all around great munching apple. Developed in 1940’s in Sebastopol, this apple is a cross between a Gravenstein and Golden Delicious. A real treat!

🍎 King David: a tart, spicy heirloom apple discovered in the late 1800’s in Arkansas. Believed to be derived from either the Jonathan or Arkansas Black varietal, this is a great eating, processing, baking apple and known for its complex citrus-like or w**e-like flavor profiles.

🍎 Ashmead’s Kernel: an awesome apple variety all around. For those who love traditional sweet/tart hard russeted apples. Discovered in Gloucester, England in 1700’s, this varietal has found an even better home at our farm in Sebastopol. Loved by c***r makers and those with the most seasoned apple palates.

🍎 Mutsu: a crunchy crowd pleaser, this large sweet/tart apple is extremely versatile and tasty. A cross between the tart Japanese varietal, Indo, and a sweet Golden Delicious.

🍎 Jonathan: anyone from the Midwest swears by this apple for baking pies and apple butter.

🍎 Hudson Golden Gem: is it an apple or pear? This apple is russeted with rough golden skin and has the taste of a nutty pear but texture of an apple. The variety is originally from Oregon circa 1930.

🍎 Royal Gala: crisp, sweet, and such a solid apple for munching all around. They’re juicy and have a honey-like flavor, making them great for nut butter pairings or salads. These taste nothing like the ones you find in grocery stores.

🍎 Honeycrisp: sweet, snappy, and delightful, and always a crowd pleaser. They’re best eaten out of hand!

🍎 Roxbury Russet (last week!): these apples have developed incredible sugars at this point in the season, and would make an incredible apple sauce or juice. It’s the oldest named American heirloom apple hailing from Roxbury, Massachusetts circa 1650.

🍎 Belle de Boskoop: a tart, sharp, aromatic apple originally hailing from the Netherlands circa 1850. This russeted apple is great in many applications.

08/26/2026

Apple season here we go! We’re in the swing of it and are seeing some of our most coveted varieties:

🍎 Belle De Boskoop (first week!) - introduced in 1850’s in the Netherlands, this apple is russeted and striped in appearance. It tends to be a large, dense, and tart apple that keeps its shape when baking. It’s great to share after a meal or juice or bake with.

🍎 Hudson Golden Gem (first week!) - dating back to Oregon in 1931, this cultivar was discovered a bush of feral apple trees and reproduced because it is perhaps one of the finest russeted eating apples. This textured golden apple is elongated and has characteristics of a sugared nutty pear.

🍎 Ashmead’s Kernel (first week!) - a farm favorite! It’s a smaller russeted apple that really packs a punch in flavor, which is almost sherbet champagne-like with a kick of acid. Good for everything including juice, c***r, baking, and eating, this cultivar originally hails from England around 1700.

🍎 Mutsu (first week!) - this large variety is also a farm favorite. It’s a snappy apple that’s a mix between Golden Delicious and a Japanese variety called ‘Indo,’ and named after the Japanese Mutsu province. It can have the charismatic freckles that a Golden Delicious has, as well as sweetness, paired with beautiful acid and super crispy texture. Great for everything like munching out of hand, juicing, baking, etc.

🍎 Roxbury Russet (pictured above!) is the original American heirloom, dating back to 1650 in Roxbury Massachusetts, now part of Boston. Known for its incredible cold hardiness and tough skin, this apple packs a delicious punch and has incredible flavor.

🍎 Jonathan (first week!) - a favorite juicing and baking apple, the Jonathan apple is thought to be a chance seedling from a Spitzenburg tree, dating back to 1700’s in New York. As one of the best baking / processing apples, it’s sweet, almost creamy in texture, and has a nice underlying kick of acid.

🍎 Honeycrisp - they get better and sweeter every week as the season goes on, while still maintaining their crisp. Get them while you still can!

🍎 Royal Gala - a delicious snacking apple, this cultivar is per

08/01/2026

Find us at all of our usual farmer’s markets starting this weekend! Inquire for varieties.

- Thursday: Marin Farmers Market (AIM Farmers Markets 🌱)
- Friday: St Helena Farmers Market (St. Helena Farmers' Market)
- Saturday: SF Ferry Building (Foodwise)
- Saturday: Napa Farmers Market (Napa Farmers Market)
- Sunday: SF Clement St (AIM Farmers Markets 🌱)
- Sunday: (Starting 8/9) Walnut Creek Farmers Market (WC Sunday Farmers’ Market)
- Sunday: Marin Farmers Market (AIM Farmers Markets 🌱)
- Tuesday: Napa Farmers Market (Napa Farmers Market)

Visit California | Travel + Fun Things to Do CAFF

05/05/2026

Baby apples on the farm! This is our most labor-intensive time of year, when the unripe, little apples need to be thinned by hand. This ensures proper sizing and flavor development as the apples ripen up over the course of many months.

If you’re an organic fresh market farmer, you’re more often than not thinning by hand, which takes tens of thousands of hours over the span of a few months, whereas conventional apple growers can complete this process with one spray in a day. Call us crazy, but we think the flavor is worth the wait.

Overall the crop is looking really good, and we’re looking at an early August start of harvest date.

03/26/2026

Keep eating, buying, talking about, working with Gravenstein apples! It will help keep this Slow Food International arc of taste crop alive for generations to come. We're happy to continue cultivating them for our 50th apple harvest this year!

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