Rural Roots Sunday - Going Nuts in Elk Grove!

…The Rural Area is valued in our community for its aesthetic and cultural significance, as well as the economic and educational opportunities that agriculture provides. Our commitment to maintaining the Rural Area is clear and codified in core planning documents…”

Elk Grove General Plan, December 2023, Page 2-5

Having been raised on a couple acres in Oakdale and having worked as a teenager in an orchard, Frank hoped to one day own his own small parcel on which to grow walnuts.  The purchase of our home in 1984 on 2 ½-acres in the Elk Grove rural area brought him one step closer to making this a reality.  Mid-1990 we expanded our lot to 5-acres, started planting Chandler walnut trees, Frank retired, and we went all in.

As the trees grew and the crops increased, we began buying harvesting equipment, a hulling system, and dryers.  One thing led to another, and, due to their high quality and demand, we invested in a shelling system.

We could not have predicted what we had gotten ourselves into!  At the height, we were getting 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of in-shell walnuts per season.  We sold walnuts under the name Elk Grove Walnut Co to several farmers’ markets, local Chinese restaurants, and we had an incredibly large faithful following of customers who bought direct from our property.

After close to 20 years of growing, harvesting, processing, and selling, we retired the operation in the Fall of 2014. 

This remarkable journey within Elk Grove’s city limits was made possible because city leaders upheld the promise to honor and protect the community’s beloved rural area.  We urge today’s city leaders to preserve the rural area so that future generations can continue to experience meaningful agricultural opportunities on small parcels of land.

 Submitted by Eileen C. and Frank R.

Rural area residents