You may very well know his apples already from his branded bags of Heirloom Apple Blend that are sold at Northern California Whole Foods. He’s more than succeeded, growing 13,000 olive trees of Spanish, Italian and French cultivars 12,000 apple trees of 75 different varieties, including rare heirlooms and a smattering of citrus, including Blood Oranges and Mandarin-Kumquats. He started his Gold Ridge Organic Farms in 2001 to create an edible wonderland. But in the truest sense of nurtured familiarity, having planted each and every one of them with the help of only one assistant.
Not in the “Hi! How are you?” kind of way, he jokes. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)įarmer Brooke Hazen knows every tree planted on his 88 acres in the rolling hills of Sebastopol. Asian pear apples grown at Gold Ridge Farms.
