Behind the Scenes at Ocean Mist Farms Artichokes

This is not a sponsored post or a sponsored trip. My colleague and friend, Abby Langer with Abby Langer Nutrition, won the Ocean Mist Farms recipe contest and brought me with her on this fun trip!

Howdy y’all. I hope your July is off to a fantastic start! I’m super excited to finally share some of the details and highlights of my trip last month to Monterrey, California. My amazing friend, Abby Langer (in the middle of the below photo), actually won a recipe contest with Ocean Mist Farms Artichokes, and she was kind enough to invite me on the trip she won! Beth Atkinson with DMA Solutions (on the right in the below photo) did a phenomenal job of providing Abby and I with 3 days worth of artichokes, artichokes and more artichokes. Keep reading for all the scoop!

Before I go into all the fun trips details, make sure and check out Abby’s winning recipe!

Ocean Mist Farms has been growing artichokes for more than 90 years! We got to visit some of the fields in Castroville, California, and I will never look at artichokes the same! I learned so much about how they grow, how they’re harvested and even got to attend the Artichoke Food and Wine Festival. And in case you were wondering, yes, Ocean Mist Farms is recognized as the largest artichoke operation in the United States.

Instead of going on forever with tons of information, I want to let the pictures tell most of the story. All photos were taken by the fabulous, Abby Langer.

I was in absolute awe of the fields. I sure hope I get the chance to go back!

Aren’t they just beautiful? Artichokes are actually the bud of the plant and at full maturity, they turn into a gorgeous purple (non-edible) flower. Larger artichokes grow on the top and smaller artichokes grow towards the bottom. This was mind-blowing to me, as I assumed there were “large” artichoke plants and “baby” artichoke plants, but that isn’t the case. They have primary (the largest), secondary and tertiary buds, so those adorable “baby artichokes” you see in the grocery store are actually just tertiary artichokes!

Standing in a field with an abundance of artichokes has me convinced they’re one of the most beautiful crops. Speaking of beautiful- look at those inner petals and the heart. Gorgeous!

Artichokes are harvested by hand and watching this process was both humbling and mesmerizing. Harvesters walk through the fields wearing “canastas” (basically a backpack), cut the mature artichokes and effortlessly (or so it looks that way) toss the artichoke in the canasta. But here’s the deal- the canastas can weigh up the 100 pounds when full and the whole process requires strength, attention to detail and skill. Mad props to both the harvesters and for Ocean Mist Farms because they take excellent care of all their employees. Isn’t that an awesome picture? Abby got so many great shots, but that one is definitely my favorite!

Ocean Mist Farms actually grows more than 30 fresh vegetables and they were kind enough to send me a care package with lots of goodies after the trip. Check out this Berry Broccoli Brussels Salad with Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette!

14 Responses

Ariella says:
July 6, 2017 at 7:11 am
Such a beautiful plant. Had no idea the different sizes grew together either.
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1. Shannon says:
  July 6, 2017 at 8:10 am
  Isn’t that so neat?! Thanks for stopping by!
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Abbey Sharp says:
July 6, 2017 at 7:36 am
I love all of these photos! Looks like you guys had a lovely time there learning about all things artichoke! Can’t wait to see more recipes!
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1. Shannon says:
  July 6, 2017 at 8:10 am
  Yes, it was such a great time, Abbey! And Abby took some amazing photos!
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Stacey Mattinson says:
July 6, 2017 at 9:13 am
The artichokes look so beautiful!! What a great experience.
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1. Shannon says:
  July 6, 2017 at 9:29 am
  Thank you, Stacey! It was a bkast and I learned so much!
  Reply
Emily | EmPowered Nutrition says:
July 6, 2017 at 10:11 am
Mmm that salad looks delish! Looks like such a fun trip!
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1. Shannon says:
  July 6, 2017 at 10:18 am
  Thanks, Emily! It has Brussels sprouts, broccoli and some other goodies. I’ll post it soon ;).
  Reply
Cara @ Street Smart Nutrition says:
July 7, 2017 at 7:45 am
So cool! Farm tours are one of my absolute favorite things – it’s so fun to learn about how our food grows and where it comes from straight from the source! What a neat experience
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1. Shannon says:
  July 7, 2017 at 11:46 am
  Absolutely, Cara! Couldn’t agree more; so grateful for this experience!
  Reply
Lindsey Pine says:
July 7, 2017 at 4:22 pm
You’re so lucky you got to go on this trip!! I love touring farms and eating tasty food!
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1. Shannon says:
  July 9, 2017 at 9:35 pm
  Yes, I feel so blessed! It was a super neat trip!
  Reply
Kathryn Pfeffer says:
July 10, 2017 at 7:09 pm
This looks like a lovely time! I agree about artichokes; they are gorgeous (and delicious)!
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1. Shannon says:
  July 11, 2017 at 5:39 pm
  Thank you, Kathryn! So glad you agree :).
  Reply