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Health & Fitness

Crystal Bay Farms: A Pajaro Valley Treasure

A special place along the Monterey Bay Coastline offering organic pumpkins, gourds, strawberries and raspberries for sale directly from the farm.

The sign along the road reads, “Grow local, eat local” which is the essence of what Crystal Bay Farms is all about. Jeff and Lori Fiorovich, husband and wife, grow and sell all their own organic pumpkins, strawberries and raspberries on their farm. It is on the honor system where patrons can pick and pay by the pound.

Ask Jeff about the 40 varieties of pumpkins and gourds that he grows and his passion for these beauties becomes evident. Like a fine wine, each variety is labeled with a description detailing, its texture, sugarcontent, and suggested applications (soups, vs. pies etc.)

This is not just a gourmet gourd farm, it is really a traditional pumpkin patch with a modern twist, scary faces pop out of each pile of pumpkins, there are skeletons hanging from the temporary tent structure and head stones along the strawberry patch to spook even the least imaginative adult. They show movies Friday nights at dusk in the pumpkin patch (the first showing is kid friendly) on a big screen and welcome you onto their farm which as Lori says, “is an extension of their home.” This working farm also has ducks, chickens and a horse to help entertain the kids even after they’ve picked their perfect pumpkin.

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The Fiorovich family plans to offer organic pumpkins and gourds for sale throughout October and November and possibly into December. The left overs are sold to other farmers as livestock food in exchange for cow manure, so that nothing is wasted. “We try to provide a sweet little community place to come with your kids, see a pony and a working farm while you pick your pumpkins," says Lori, “where else can you do that around here?”

Crystal Bay farms is open from 10 a.m. to sunset all week. Crystal Bay Farms is located at 40 Zils Road, right off of San Andreas Rd. Check out the farm's events calendar here.

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