Workshops – Books – Tours – Trees – Plants

Towards A Climate Resilient Food Economy:

We have passionately searched the Sierra Nevada and Western States to re-discover the living library of plants still scattered across Northern California, those trees and plants left over from the 1800’s and early 1900’s Gold Rush era.   These are the grandmother trees that have become climate resilient with no human attention for the last 100 years. They give the best fruit and nuts in conditions that most fruit and nut trees can not endure with large annual temperature variations. These  grandmother trees have learned to thrive under the most harsh conditions. We want to make them available to growers, gardeners and communities throughout the West Coast.

We have personally found these trees and have taken cuttings directly from the 100+ year old grandmother trees that still cling to life in ghostly, historic orchards. We offer very rare and exclusive plants – some may have only just been rediscovered.

95% of plants available during the 1800s are no longer available today.  We are saving what is left before they die. 

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Thanks to Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply (originally started by our founder Amigo Bob Cantisano), a collection of some of our favorite species and varieties will be available through Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden for the 2024/25 Bareroot Season. 

Stay Tuned…

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The SOLD OUT Varieties listed below are for informational purposes only. These are many of the plants we have found and sold over the years. While some of these varieties will be available this Autumn, many will not. 

Hope is on the Horizon.

We will have historic fruit and nut trees available for preorder

November 1, 2024.

Thank you for all your Support!

Orders only accepted via the website.

Colfax Russet
+3

Colfax Russet

00172
$0.00
Out of stock
1
Product Details

This is sort of weird and probably only for collectors. This great tree was most likely planted in the 40's or later but has survived all these years. Yet, unnamed and unique, this variety, possibly a seedling, is small, buttery, juicy and flavorful, like a russeted Seckle. Sometimes they are mealy. The strong russeting weaves across the thickish skin and contributes to its somewhat grainy texture. Some people believe that the russeted varieties have some of the best flavor, and this seems to be true with this pear. The Colfax Russet also has a unique physical characteristic in that the fruit blends into the stem and the stem blends right into the branch without much physical delineation. The tree grows slowly and is most likely not a heavy producer. For the lover of the unique and unusual.

Illinoistown was renamed Colfax in honor of the 17th US Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Jr. who had visited this bustling town during the construction of the First Continental Railroad around 1865. Colfax was located in the pear belt and was famous for Bartlett pears. Many people here planted orchards and were easily able to load up their produce directly onto the transcontinental railroad. The dreaded fire blight became a real nuisance by 1900 and many of the orchards all over California were progressively wiped out. There are still some strong survivors in these mountains but the fire blight still rips through here regularly.

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