Stehly Farms Organics
Second generation California farmer Jerome Stehly founded Stehly Ranch to raise chickens back in 1962. It quickly evolved into one of the area’s larger produce growers, and today the 278-acre ranch grows avocados, citrus, strawberries, blackberries, and assorted vegetables. Stehly’s sons, Jerome and Noel, took over the farm in 2002, and the brothers changed the name to Stehly Farms Organics, to reflect the property’s certified organic designation.
The farm hosts a strawberry picking event in the spring, a blackberry fest in June, and invites the public to pick from its pumpkin patch in October. But the farm’s best known for its tree crops. Its Hass and reed harvests are a huge reason San Diego’s the largest producer of avocados in the nation. It also raises quite a lot of citrus fruit, including grapefruit, orange, and tangerine varieties.
Locally, Stehly produce is sold in its proprietary Stehly Farms Market locations in Bay Park and Kensignton, as well as larger grocery outlets such as Jimbo’s, Whole Foods, Cream of the Crop, Seaside Market, and the People’s Market co-op in Ocean Beach.