Local Growers
Fresh fruits and vegetables have a personal and distinctive place of origin.
Independent & small scale family farms contribute to our regional abundance and landscape with a wide variety of fresh, peak of season produce.
Check out some of our notable farmer profiles to see who’s growing your food.
Christopher Ranch
A Rich Tradition in Garlic~ In the early 1890′s, Ole Christopher left Denmark for the long journey to America. Like many immigrants, Ole labored long and hard to make his dreams a reality, eventually purchasing a tract of land ideal for planting an orchard. For the next 20 years, the Christopher family continued to add to their holdings, until they became one of the largest growers of prunes in the Santa Clara Valley. Don Christopher, Ole’s grandson, grew up on that original ranch, working side by side with his father in the orchards. Then, in 1956, Don set out to create a ranch of his own. Buying a plot of land in Gilroy – just ten miles south of where he was raised – Don and his brother Art decided to try their luck with a new kind of crop: Garlic. Experimenting with European varieties allowed them to carve out a unique niche in the world of Santa Clara Valley produce.
Over time, Don turned more of his holdings to garlic cultivation – in particular, French & Italian varieties, which produce bigger & more flavorful bulbs. Along the way he co-founded the Gilroy Garlic Festival, an annual event that has transformed Gilroy into the “Garlic Capital of the World”.
Ole’s great grandson, Bill, is at the helm of Christopher Ranch, as a steward with the same purpose & dedication to quality that’s been the hallmark of the family business for over 50 years. Tending heirloom seed stock, Bill and his son Ken are focused on the next 50 years of family farming in the Santa Clara Valley
