Dates: Delicious Desert Delights

The is all about local food, so you wouldn’t expect to find Medjool dates (which originate in Morocco) there, but Flying Disk Ranch is in fact local, which is why you can find its product at our market.

Located in Thermal, CA, about seven miles from the Salton Sea near Coachella, Flying Disc Ranch's desert landscape is perfect for growing dates that can ordinarily be found in Morocco, Algeria and Turkey. Owner Robert Lower planted his 10-acre palm orchard in 1979 and has been selling directly to consumers ever since. 

There are 12 species of dates offered at different times throughout the season including Medjool, Deglet Noor and Zahidi (also known as the butter date). Medjool dates are the most commonly available in stores, but the other varieties, which can be found on Flying Disc Ranch’s website will satisfy the most curious palate. 

I stopped by to visit Cara Tower, who was working at the Mar Vista Farmers' market booth, to find out more about dates and how they grow. She told me that dates are harvested from September through the first week of December. It takes all year for them to grow and all summer for them to ripen. After harvest they are kept in a cold room until they’re sold.

Loyal customers can pick up a variety of available dates through July, so there’s only a few weeks left to enjoy these desert delights. 

Tower also mentioned that the ranch uses some biodynamic /organic methods and permaculture design techniques to grow more than just dates. In fact, you can pick up some of Flying Disk’s award-winning grapefruit, organic aloe vera plants and grapes.

Lower established a polyculture of citrus, fig and pomegranate trees, grapevines and other plants to diversify his land. Even though it’s a desert out there, the ground is always covered with grasses, which act as a living mulch to keep moisture from evaporating out of the soil. Lower has coined the term eco-dynamic to define how he cultivates the land. 

Tower solved a long-standing mystery for me: What the heck are those white powder-covered pellets? She explained that Deglet Noir dates, which are the driest variety, are used to make date pieces. In the process of making those pieces, they are dusted with oat flour to prevent sticking in the machine. 

Flying Disc Ranch also sells a highly touted date bar made with only two ingredients: dates and walnuts. During the few minutes I was standing at the booth, nearly every customer came by specifically to buy the date bars, exclaiming, “You have to try one. They’re the best date bars you’ll ever eat!”  

The unofficial motto of Flying Disc Ranch is, “Dates you can take home with you.” Weekly customers seem to think so.

Prices range from $4 to $8 per pound. Date bars are $3 each or two for $5. Grapes are $3 a pound, and grapefruit is $1 a pound.

Christy Wilhelmi is well known to many local Mar Vistans as The Gardenerd. Her website and blog at  www.gardenerd.com offers  information on classes, consulting and food-garden design.