The Food

J.R. Organics, CCOF certified in 1986, is 100% organic and committed to growing produce in the purest way possible

Variety

Our crops range from arugula to watermelon are 100% GMO free and locally grown. We plant as many as 100 varieties of more than 50 items each year including holiday timed produce like pumpkins and Thanksgiving herb mixes. See our seasonal planting schedule below for more information on what’s available when. Also below is interesting information about a few of the crops we grow and sell.

Lettuce Fields

J.R. Organics is able to produce lettuce throughout the whole summer. Growing in San Diego gets too hot for many leafy greens which will kill them or make the taste very bitter. We solve this by growing in a microclimate. There is a section of the farm that is in a low valley which has its own cooler microclimate in comparison to the rest of the farm. Growing in the micro climate allows them to produce quality greens when most growers cannot. We grow many winter crops like Kale, Collard greens, chard, and broccoli all year long and stagger our planting periods so we always have mature lettuce ready for harvest. Our customers claim that J.R.’s romaine is the best tasting romaine out there which is largely because of the biodiversity, crop rotation, and the good weeds that bring up nutrients.

Unwanted romaine

Often times you have certain areas in the fields that don’t receive as much water. They and stunted or physically aren’t appealing enough to sell well at the farmers markets but are still equal in nutrition and flavor. These unwanted romaines would normally become waste on other farms, but J.R. sells them to juicing companies so they have zero waste.

Romaine E. coli Scares – BUY LOCAL!

Frequent reports of contaminated lettuce resulting in cases of E. Coli and occasional deaths are an unfortunate side effect of giant factory farms run by faceless corporations. Buy local from certified organic farms and you don’t have to worry about the risks of food contamination.

Bundling Kale for market VS juicing

Preparing kale to be sold at market requires a lot of physical labor. They must first pull based off of size, then trim, bundle, and then secure the bundle. Preparing kale for the juicing companies they simple pull and place it into a container. This saves J.R. Organics Farm precious time and money which helps the farm. However you enjoy your J.R. grown kale you can be certain it’s more vitamin rich and flavorful than anything else on the market.

Blueberries

Plant nutrients are strongest when first picked. This is why buying local is important. You are receiving a product with the shortest amount of time between harvest and consumption which yields the most nutrient rich product

Watermelon

Watermelons like it hot and require a lot of water which raises costs. We grow 3 different varieties.

Cucumbers

We plant a variety of cucumbers at different times of the year to ensure a year round supply and use trial and error different varieties at different times of the year to find out what works best.

Strawberries

We plant approximately six varieties strawberries in November and the plants live for around for 2 years. The ever-bearing strawberries produce almost all year around but stop producing for 3 months when it gets too hot. Once it cools in November they start producing again.

Peppers

Peppers are new to J.R. but something we want to expand to and do during our summer festival. Peppers are high in vitamin C and jalapeños have more vitamin C than strawberries which are higher in vitamin C than oranges.