The short answer is that we are a family farm and we're out in the grove a lot and hard to reach. Our part of California has a landscape of conventional and organic avocado farms, citrus groves, and vineyards; located among rolling hills - and a very low population density. So, the cell phone companies haven't installed cell towers here. Since we're in the grove a lot of the time, phones just don't work. But, we do have satellite based high speed internet, so an email from the Home page "Contact Us" section will get to us when we get back to the office and then we can get back to you.

Unless delayed by weather or unexpected events, we pick the farm-to-table avocados twice a week, generally on Monday and Wednesday, and we ship either that day or the following day. So, if a fresh organic Hass or conventional Hass or GEM order is received by 8:00 AM of a picking day, it will be processed that day. Otherwise, to ensure freshness, it will be processed on the next picking day. And, we'll let you know when it ships.

After picking, the fresh Hass and/or GEM avocados are cleaned, covered with a foam net jacket for added protection, and packed for shipment. To ensure a safe trip the fruit is surrounded by a 100% biodegradable Aspen wood excelsior packing material (which makes a great fire starter if you have and use a fireplace like we do). That day or the day after picking the package is delivered to the shipper and should be at your home within 4-5 business days. The fruit will be ready to enjoy a few days after that.

The short answer is somewhere between 1 and 2 weeks after they leave the tree. And since it all starts with being picked from the tree, we include a packing sheet in the box that tells you when and by whom they were picked and packed. There's a lot of info from web on how to judge avocado ripeness and how to speed that up or slow it down, and we include a summary sheet in the box to help you with that so that you get the most enjoyment from our fresh Hass or GEM fruit. With commercially processed fruit it can be a bit harder to predict as it can experience multiple refrigeration cycles as it is shipped from the farm to a packing house, then to a wholesaler, then to a retail outlet. And, if it comes from outside the US there are added shipping and customs events as well. All of this takes a toll on the fruit's taste, texture, nourishment, and the ability to know when it's at the best point of ripeness. Of course, that confusion can be eliminated by buying directly from our farm 😉.

Our grove is divided into an organic block which is USDA Certified organic, where we use only approved fertilizers and soil amendments; and a conventional block where we use lower cost conventional equivalents. a key component of both blocks is that there are no insecticides applied to either the organic or conventional soil, trees, or fruit. Instead we use natural predator insects to combat destructive pests. So, we and our family enjoy the fruit from both blocks, knowing that no inorganic chemical has touched any of the fruit.

Hass avocados originated in the backyard of a home in southern California almost 100 years age. Since that time they have become the World's favorite avocado and are now grown in many countries. Many varieties existed before the Hass and many have been developed since; and GEM is among the best of the newer varieties, named in honor of Gray E. Martin who was a key participant in it's development at UC Riverside. Like Hass, it is a naturally derived Non-GMO variety. The GEM is somewhat larger than a Hass, typically has a thicker leather like skin that turns dark when ripe like the Hass with a somewhat dryer texture. But, it shares the same wonderful taste and health benefits as Hass. Basically, it's a larger Hass and our family loves to eat both.

Commercial avocados have a complex quality/size grading criteria. At the top level is organic and conventional, then below each of those are quality #1 (no or small cosmetic defects), #2 (larger cosmetic defects), and culls. #1's normally go to retail sale, #2 usually go to food service (restaurants, commercially produced Guacamole, and the like), and culls are discarded. Then comes a size number. The fruit is packaged in 25 lb boxes, called a lug, and the size number is how many pieces of fruit that size would fit into a 25 lb lug. So, the larger the number, the smaller the fruit size. Avocados typically have 8 standard size categories with the largest being a 32 ct. (12.5 oz) and the smallest a 96 ct (4.2 oz). A large avocado in a retail store will likely be a conventional #1 48ct.

CLB Farms' use of the word "Premium" means fresh Hass and GEM avocados that are correctly formed, have no meaningful defects, and were hand picked, transported, and packed to ensure that they are fresh, without refrigeration or applied gas ripening cycles, and are damage free. In our commercial harvest, we typically supply our packers 90% #1 fruit that is 60ct or larger. Our Premium hand picked fruit that we provide to our direct sale customers (and to ourselves, our friends, and family) is selected from the best of the #1 fruit.

The simple answer is how it's grown, processed, and transported; and how the earth, people, and environment are treated along the way. We have invested in environmentally sustainable land and materials, modern high quality fruit stock, automated infrastructure to produce the finest quality fruit; while preserving a family farm atmosphere with experienced and conscientious workers who are paid well for their skill and hard work. This stands in stark contrast to imported fruit from foreign locations where this is not the case.

We select and pick avocados for direct sale by quality first (the "Premium" part) then by size, harvesting the larger fruit first to allow the remaining avocados to continue to grow. Conventional fruit is likely to be a bit larger than organic. the actual size will vary over the course of a season and when there's lots of larger fruit we choose some smaller fruit as well to be certain that we have the right mix for each box to be full and at or above the advertised weight. We know that the shipping period can create a small amount of shrinkage and we want to be sure that you receive full value. All of that said, we expect each box to contain fruit that is a minimum 60 count (6.7 oz), but may be much larger.

Pretty simple - if you don't get what you expect let us know by an email to our "Contact Us" section and we will either replace it at no cost to you or return your payment, whichever you prefer. We know what goes into each fresh Hass and GEM avocado shipment and have great confidence in it's quality. We're not just selling pieces of fruit, were sharing the experience of having the same wonderful fruit that we enjoy every day here on the farm. So, if at any time we fall short of that we will make it right. In the rare case that we would see abuse of the policy, we may elect to not accept future orders connected to that.