Farm-direct means exactly one thing: the people who picked the fruit are the people who packed your box. We grow Medjool, Zahidi and Barhi dates on our family farm in Sky Valley, in California’s Coachella Valley, and sell the harvest ourselves — no broker, no packing house, no warehouse middle. Here’s what that actually changes, and what it doesn’t.

A working row at Desert Sun Dates — mulch, drip line and wheelbarrow between Medjool palms
On our ground in Sky Valley — the grove behind every box we ship.

Shop Medjool →Shop Zahidi →
1–12 lb boxes · shipping included to the lower 48 · (760) 501-1845

Buying dates straight from the grower

Most Medjool dates in the US are grown in California and Arizona, but the bag you find at a grocery store has usually been through a packer, a distributor and a shelf. For the freshest fruit, buy from a grower who ships from their own cold room. Ask three things before you order (our guide to picking the best Medjool dates explains what to look for): when was it harvested, who packed it, and is shipping included? We answer all three on every box: jumbo Medjool dates from $19 (1 lb to 12 lb, shipping included), gift boxes with your note on top, and wholesale cases of 24 to 100 lb. Comparing sellers? See where to buy Medjool dates online. Not sure where Medjools come from? Here is where California dates are grown.

What farm-direct changes

  • Age of the fruit. Store dates routinely sell a year or more after harvest, after a trip through a packer, a distributor and a shelf. Ours ship from our own cold room, from the current harvest, often within days of your order.
  • Who answers the phone. Ask when a case was picked and the person who picked it will tell you. Try that with a bag from a warehouse.
  • What’s in the box. One ingredient. No glucose coating, no sulfites, nothing to make old fruit look fresh — because the fruit isn’t old.
  • The sorting standard. We don’t run a grading line. Every box is hand-sorted from the top of the harvest — the largest, best fruit the palms grew that year. Fruit that doesn’t make the cut doesn’t go to market.

What farm-direct doesn’t mean

Honesty cuts both ways. Farm-direct doesn’t mean same-day delivery (no farm ships fruit same-day — anything that arrives same-day came from a warehouse). It doesn’t mean a farm stand — we’re an online store; there’s no shop to visit. And it doesn’t mean “organic”: we grow without pesticides, which is a narrower claim than certification and the only one we’re entitled to make.

How it works

One harvest a year, late summer into fall. The crop goes into cold storage on the farm, and we pack to order from it until it’s gone — when the cold room empties, that’s it until next September. Boxes run 1 to 12 lb ($15–$118 depending on variety and size), cases run 24 to 100 lb for bulk and wholesale buyers, and shipping is included either way. Posted prices, no games.

Who we are

A family farm in Sky Valley — one of the driest, hottest corners of the Coachella Valley, which is exactly what date palms want. We planted our first Medjools in 2016 and have expanded ever since with offshoots from our own best palms. Our story is here, and our grower’s guide to the valley’s date farms will even point you to our neighbors — we’d rather you buy from a real farm, any real farm, than from a shelf.

Common questions

Is buying directly from a farm cheaper?

Per pound, usually yes at the same quality level — there’s no middleman margin stacked on. Our Medjool runs $9.83–$19/lb depending on box size, shipping included. What you’re really buying, though, is freshness that doesn’t survive a distribution chain.

Which farms ship dates to your door?

A handful of Coachella Valley growers ship direct, each with its own character. We’re one of them — and the comparison pages on this site lay out the differences honestly, because an informed buyer tends to become a repeat customer.

Can I visit the farm?

We’re a working grove and an online store, not a visitor destination — no farm stand, no tours. The fruit travels; you don’t have to.