Curious about life on a working fruit farm? We can share the behind-the-scenes aspect of a typical day at PURA GROVE. Our farm employs six farmworkers. They’re all from the local area and have known each other for years. Five of them currently live on the farm full-time.
Property Manager Ed Gonzalez says, “They love working here because they all have a background living on farmlands since they were younger. They like the whole farming side to it.” Two have worked this land for decades, since the property was entirely an avocado farm. By now, it’s fair to say the beautiful De Luz Heights landscape is in their blood.
The work day starts early at 630am. Everyone has a lot to do since the property covers more than 120 acres. One worker who is familiar with the water system, bulldozer, and heavy machinery helps oversee the others.
Working with the Olive Trees
This week, it’s all about weed-wacking! It takes a long time to get rid of weeds. Ed explains, "We don’t want weeds blocking the sprinklers. We need to see if anything in the water system is clogged..” The water goes through three filtration systems that filter out minerals prior to arriving at the trees, but the filters must be cleaned every so often to keep a consistent water flow.
“We also need to finish up cleaning everything left by the heavy rains,” Ed continues. “With the dragonfruit, we need to check which fruits survived and what we need to replant. Since the winter was so cold, a lot of tangerines died. We’ll replant the ones that didn’t make it.”
Installing trellises for the dragonfruit
Ed has managed the property for a year and a half. He moved down from Orange County and now lives in Temecula, a 20-minute drive from the farm. De Luz is generally “a slower pace” of life than OC, he says, but there is still a lot that needs to be accomplished each day.
“There’s more to the property than just the farming aspect of things, “ Ed says. “We’re working with the electrical company and checking with the utility company. I’m also selling the fruit, so I’m dealing with the packing houses, with a winery that’s going to buy from us, and I’m checking on requirements for our organic certification.” His tasks are even more diverse since we have an AirBnB onsite.
Picking Avocados
We really appreciate all the work Ed does behind the scenes and we know our guests do, too. At PURA GROVE, we appreciate everyone whose work keeps the farm and AirBnB running smoothly. A large property doesn’t keep itself and, as they say, teamwork makes the dream work!
We invite you to book a stay with us and enjoy tasting any mangos, guavas, cherries, apples, or berries you find growing at the time! We don’t sell these particular fruits en masse, so you’ll be getting a PURA GROVE onsite exclusive!
With heartfelt thanks from the team at PURA GROVE.