Shields Date Garden vs Desert Sun Dates: An Honest Comparison (2026)

I own Desert Sun Dates, so read this knowing I sell one of the two things being compared. Every Shields figure below was read from shieldsdategarden.com on 13 September 2026. Prices change. Check theirs before you decide anything.

Let me say the unusual part first: if you are ever near Indio, go to Shields. Order a date shake, walk the garden, watch the film in the theater. It is a Coachella Valley institution that has been there since 1924, and nothing on this page is going to talk you out of visiting, because I would not want it to. This comparison is only about one thing: ordering a box of Medjool dates online.

We grow these. Zahidi Dates | California-Grown & Farm-Direct | Desert Sun Dates from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $19/lb, shipping included. See them →

The comparison, checked 13 September 2026

	Shields Date Garden	Desert Sun Dates
What it is	Historic date garden, store, cafe and visitor attraction	One family farm, online only
Where	Indio, CA — since 1924	Sky Valley, CA
Coachella Valley	Yes	Yes
Jumbo Medjool pricing	“Jumbo Royal Medjools” — $29.00 to $225.00 across sizes from 1 lb to 15 lb, shipping added at checkout	1 lb $19 · 2 lb $29 · 4 lb $49 · 6 lb $67 · 8 lb $84 · 12 lb $118 — shipping included, lower 48
Entry price, delivered	Smallest Jumbo Royal box starts at $29.00 before shipping	1 lb, $19.00, nothing added
Varieties	Ten-plus, including their own Blonde & Brunette and Abbada	Medjool, Zahidi, Barhi
Beyond whole fruit	Stuffed dates, chocolates, Date Crystals®, gift boxes, a cafe	Whole fruit only
Can you visit?	Yes — garden walk, theater, famous date shakes	Drive-by farm; orders ship from the grove

A note on their prices: Shields sells its Jumbo Royal Medjools in eight sizes, and the per-size prices display in their cart rather than on the page, so I am quoting the published range and not guessing at the middle. What is certain from their own listing is that the range starts at $29.00 before shipping and tops out at $225.00.

Where they are genuinely better

The place itself. Shields is not just a shop, it is a destination — the garden walk, the theater, the cafe, the date shake people drive across the valley for. We have nothing like it and are not pretending to. If the experience is part of what you are buying, there is no comparison to make; go.

Range. Ten-plus varieties including Blonde & Brunette and Abbada, which they are known for and which you will struggle to find anywhere else. Plus stuffed dates, chocolate-covered dates, Date Crystals®, and gift assortments. If you want a gift box with variety in it, their catalog is far deeper than ours.

A century of history. They have been at it since 1924. We are a young farm with about 200 palms and a staged planting. That difference is real and I am not going to talk around it.

Where we are better

Delivered price on the box you actually order. Their smallest Jumbo Royal box starts at $29.00 before shipping is added at checkout. Our 1 lb is $19.00 delivered and our 2 lb is $29.00 delivered — the same $29, but with the shipping already inside it and twice the… well, you can see where that goes. At the top end, their largest listed size is 15 lb at up to $225.00 plus shipping; our 12 lb is $118.00 with nothing added, which is $9.83 a pound at your door.

One number, no checkout arithmetic. Every price on our site is the delivered price for the lower 48. You do not find out what the box really costs on the last page.

The person who picked them packs them. Shields is a proper operation with a storefront, a cafe and staff. We are a family farm where the person answering (760) 501-1845 is the person who was up the palm. Some buyers care about that; some do not. You know which you are.

Zahidi and Barhi as whole fruit, farm-direct. Shields also sells Zahidi — credit where due, they carry more varieties than we do. What we offer is Zahidi and Barhi picked on the farm that ships them, in plain by-the-pound boxes at delivered prices, with a full Zahidi vs Medjool comparison if you are deciding between them.

Which should you buy?

Go to Shields if you are anywhere near Indio and want the experience, you want a gift assortment with variety in it, you want their exclusive Blonde & Brunette dates, or a date shake — genuinely, have one for me.

Order from us if you are buying a box of Medjools online and want the lowest delivered price, one number with nothing added at checkout, or Zahidi and Barhi shipped straight from the grove that grew them.

Two Coachella Valley growers, a century apart in age, and honestly both worth your money in different situations. That is the whole page.

Our Medjool dates →  ·  Coachella Valley dates →  ·  What is in stock today →

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Written by Jason Shopshear, who grows Medjool, Zahidi and Barhi dates at Desert Sun Dates in Sky Valley, California. All Shields Date Garden prices were read from their public product pages on 13 September 2026 and are quoted as published ranges; per-size prices display in their cart, so none are estimated here. Prices and terms change — please check before buying. If anything here is inaccurate, email me and I will correct it.