Dates and Coachella: Dates go with the City of Coachella like Sun block goes with triple digit heat..they just ARE! Our Date growing Valley produces multi varieties of the sweet, juicy fruit. Boxes of dates are shipped internationally and the demand for our local delicacy seems to be growing. Our Eastern cities such as Indio, Vista Santa Rosa, Thermal and Coachella, grow the majority of our dates. The history of one of our local Date growers, Shields, will help you understand what an important part of our local industry, our dates are.
Dates are such a large part of our world here in the Coachella Valley, that we even have our own Date Festival! That’s right, complete with Date Queens, camels, pig races, local artistry, FOOD, rides, and so many types of dates, you won’t believe it. The Riverside Co. Fair and Date festival begins February 17. The date palm was introduced into the Coachella Valley in 1900. Since then, our date orchards have flourished, although development has gradually crept into our Eastern Valley. The wide open desert of the East Valley, circled by it’s Chocolate Mountain range on the North and East and the Santa Rosas on the South and West, still offers acres of agricultural farm lands, and date orchards. Their numbers are shrinking however, so if you’re interested in purchasing Land, an equestrian farm, or a date producing farm, don’t wait too long!
If you’re looking for a small farm in the Coachella Valley, I have several that might be of interest. I have a 20 acre farm just East of the HITS horseshow entrance, that has plenty of dates on it! The trees are farmed by a local Date harvesting company, and the farm is currently being utilized as a horse layup facility. Completely fenced, the lush pastures, are watered with Coachella Valley Irrigation water, and the farm also offers it’s own, brand new WELL!! Take the tour of CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN FARM here, only $900,000.
One of the requests I get from my equestrian clients is that they want to be sure there are some date trees growing on the farms I take them to tour. Date Palms are a graceful, shade producing, heat resistant tree, that has become synonymous with the desert. Even if you’ve never harvested dates, don’t worry! Most of our small farms come with their own contracts with local date harvesters. You usually get as many free dates as you can eat too!!
If you are in the market for a true date farm, check this one out at 85624 Middleton in Thermal, California. This small, 10 acre Date farm, is on the market for the first time, at the reasonable price of just $899,000. The family that built the adobe home in the 50’s, also built up the date business on the farm. Approx. 250 date trees are harvested annually. There is an onsite Date shed with it’s own bathroom, and septic system, and is currently used mostly for storage. There are also mobile home pads with septic system at the back of the farm. Did I mention the VIEWS?? Check out the video for yourself…