FAQ

We don’t use synthetic chemical products such as fumigants, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers in our orchard. In addition, no genetically engineered products are used at any time. These products would disrupt the natural balances we’ve established in our forty years of organic farming.

For us, going organic was an easy decision since we had already been farming as simply as we possibly could prior to becoming certified organic. For our customers, choosing organic is a decision to buy food that is good for the earth as well as their bodies. We’re probably biased, but we think organic food tastes better too.

Yes, our almonds are truly "raw". They have not been processed with heat nor chemicals. Yes, there is a law about pasteurization. The USDA California Almond Marketing Order created a legal requirement for pasteurization of California grown almonds - both organic and non-organic - for large handler operations. However, built into the Marketing Order is a section called the "Roadside Stand Exemption". which allows farmers who sell only the almonds they grow to be exempt from the entire Marketing Order, including the pasteurization rule. However, there is a stipulation to this exemption. We are only allowed to sell our almonds in limited quantities - not more than 100 pounds to any one person on a single day. Selling the way that we do, in 5 pound increments (up to 20 items per person per day) fits that criteria.

We don't think so, and here's why: 1. We do not grow anything except almonds. 2. Our almonds are hulled & shelled at an outside facility, but that is an "almonds only" facility too. 3. They also are sorted at harvest (to remove parts of shells and other things that people don't want to eat) at a facility that is "almonds only". 4. And, finally, they are stored in full packaging at a commercial cold storage facility that also stores walnuts but neither our almonds nor the other people's walnuts are ever opened or exposed to each other (everything arrives packaged and stays that way while at the facility). We hope this gives you confidence in the purity of Anderson Almonds almonds.

As amazing as it is to us, many people have never seen a real live almond tree. And yes, that’s the first clue — a tree. Almonds are in the same family as peaches. So if you’ve seen a peach tree, you’ve seen something very similar to an almond tree. Commercial almond trees are grafted (imagine a branch fused onto a root) onto peach roots because they have a stronger root system. The almond nut grows in a shell that can be found inside a hull. The almond hull is the equivalent of the peach fruit, but dries up as the nut matures.

Our almond trees bloom in February and March. The nuts grow through the summer and harvest happens in fall — usually late August through early October.

In some ways, this is a mystery to us too. But we do work hard to make our trees happy (because happy trees = happy customers). So here’s what we do in a nutshell (sorry, bad pun). Over our twenty years of organic farming, we’ve had the chance to observe natural principals of soil development both in our field and in the nearby Sierra Nevada forests. By encouraging earthworm and microbial activity, we foster the incorporation of twigs, compost, and rock dust into the top layers of our soil. This process results in humus-rich soil that’s one of the fundamentals of good organic farming.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, demand for organic products has grown rapidly since we first began farming organically. Second, our farming practices are more labor intensive than conventional farming. For more insight on our production process, please see our gallery.

Yes, we love having visitors! Please contact us in advance to schedule a visit. If our schedules allow it, we’re happy to show our visitors the surrounding area as well.

We moved back in 1980 to land that has been in our family for more than 100 years. We have been certified organic growers for nearly 40 years.