FYI - raw almonds

[tiggerbounce]

For some of you that are bummed about not being able to get raw almonds I would like to share this---

I emailed a seller on ebay :



auction number: 330142240931
seller: wildbg73 ( 263)


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330142240931&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1



Will you be offering these truly raw almonds after Sept. 1, 2007? If yes, I can send dozens and dozens of potential customers your way.


Response:
Hello. Yes i will. Almond harvest starts mid-late August, and by then, I should have the 2007 crop listed for sale. I would really appreciate any new customers sent my way. Thanks!! Bill




I am going to order some today to 1) see the quality of the product and service and will check back with the info 2) to see if I can get a direct email and maybe a regular website address without breaking ebay rules -- will post that info as well.

This is at least good news. Living in an area that is to cold to grow almonds I was bummed about this. I am sure there are many other producers who will do this, but for now, this is a great relief to me and hopefully many of you. As a woman who grew up working in the fields of the midwest and seeing the price of items in the stores and knowing what the producer gets I have always been an advocate of direct buy anyway. So...so much the better! Fresh, fresh, fresh!!!:D :D :D

[Rednurseceo]

THANX FOR SHARING THIS!!!!

[hungrygirl]

Thank you for sharing this!!!! Now you can still make your fudgeballs with raw almonds. Keep us posted on the quality.

[Veganforlife]

OOOOH!!! I'd be very curious with their quality! Do let us know please?

[Mary]

Thanks so much for sharing this! I am about 1-2 hours from the almond producing areas of California, so I was getting ready to drive to the farms to buy direct! I live close enough, so I may still do that - I'm sure other farmers are going to be eager to sell their crop without having to do the expensive, unnecessary, and can I say STUPID pasteurization... :mad: The new law allows growers to sell directly to consumers. I also emailed the seller and will buy some as well.

I have two almond trees in my yard that I planted 5 years ago, and they are producing nicely now, but no where near the amount I would use in a year! I am going to plant two or three new trees this coming spring.

Thanks again, Tiggerbounce, for finding this eBay seller! This is great news!

Mary

[StarFire]

Thanks so much for sharing this! I am about 1-2 hours from the almond producing areas of California, so I was getting ready to drive to the farms to buy direct!

I have two almond trees in my yard that I planted 5 years ago, and they are producing nicely now, but no where near the amount I would use in a year! I am going to plant two or three new trees this coming spring.
Mary

MARY ~~ Good Gawd woman!! You grow almonds too :eek: ??? You never cease to amaze me :D !!! WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE?? ;) LOL!

Thanks tiggerbounce... You RAWKIN RAWMACIOUS BABE YOU!! Thanks for remembering all us RAWBIES and letting us in on this really cool almond discovery!!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/Picture379.gif I looves ya Girrll.... yep - we're headed into 'ol busom buddy territory now - been doin this almost half a year ... well... almost 4 months anywayz! hahahaha!! (amazing how time flys huh?) RAWK ON!

[Elle_Murphy]

I was just coming here to say that I was done on the raw almonds since I just ran out. I didnt realize how much of a staple it was for me until I had to do without.

Thank you so very much

[Elle_Murphy]

Everyone should be on the alert though that ppl wont use it as an excuse to skyrocket the prices. There's a difference between reasonable & someone looking to make a profit from other ppl's misfortunes.

Shop around before you purchase.

[Veganforlife]

Everyone should be on the alert though that ppl wont use it as an excuse to skyrocket the prices. There's a difference between reasonable & someone looking to make a profit from other ppl's misfortunes.

Shop around before you purchase.

Yes. I agree. EVERYBODY wants your money, just remember that. No matter how good of a deal it may seem, these folks are out to make a buck...it's a shame, but that's how it is nowadays.

[Mary]

[QUOTE=StarFire;296961]MARY ~~ Good Gawd woman!! You grow almonds too :eek: ??? You never cease to amaze me :D !!! WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE?? LOL!



Yes, I grow almonds, figs, pomegranates, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples, persimmons, medlar, quince, along with my herb garden (healing, cooking, magical) and veggie garden! I just put in 5 goji berry plants, but it will be a while before they produce. I have two avocado trees, but I haven't gotten any fruit yet - not sure what I'm doing wrong there! My cherry trees died last fall :mad: ; the nursery said they got some kind of weird infection.

I planted the small orchard of the above trees shortly after we moved in. My trees are so loaded with fruit this year - I can't wait! (Sorry... don't mean to torture you... I know you're off fruit right now...)

Next year, I'm putting in two or three more almond trees, an apricot tree, and I might try again with the cherries...

It's the Italian in me... I love to grow things! :D

Mary

[shine72]

[QUOTE=StarFire;296961][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][COLOR=magenta][B]MARY ~~ Good Gawd woman


Yes, I grow almonds, figs, pomegranates, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples, persimmons, medlar, quince, along with my herb garden (healing, cooking, magical) and veggie garden! I just put in 5 goji berry plants, but it will be a while before they produce. I have two avocado trees, but I haven't gotten any fruit yet - not sure what I'm doing wrong there! My cherry trees died last fall :mad: ; the nursery said they got some kind of weird infection.

I planted the small orchard of the above trees shortly after we moved in. My trees are so loaded with fruit this year - I can't wait! (Sorry... don't mean to torture you... I know you're off fruit right now...)

Next year, I'm putting in two or three more almond trees, an apricot tree, and I might try again with the cherries...

It's the Italian in me... I love to grow things! :D

Mary

Mary - You're my hero! Can we move in with you!;)

[StarFire]

[quote=Mary;296976
It's the Italian in me... I love to grow things! :D
Mary[/quote]

Ah-Haaa.... that explains it!! my dh is Italian farmer too!! (... well -- Scilian - does that count?!!) He loves growing things too!! oh my gawd -- pomegrante - my alllll time favorite fruit! Yummmmm....

OKAY http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/blush-4.gif... NOT TO STEAL THE THREAD....

BACK TO TIGGERs RAW ALMONDS.... http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/smiley_danceegyptian.gif

[tiggerbounce]

I did put in a bid for 5 pounds of almonds today. Really wanted to ask for direct contact info so I could speed up the process -- but I am just to DARN honest!:rolleyes: Anyway, we will see.





He emailed me back with this:

Hi Diana. Thanks for the help! What new regulations are you talking about? I see you bid on 5lbs....looking forward to getting some almonds to you. Thanks!! Bill



Must be Mary's neighbor with his own small orchard trying to make some extra money, heh heh! Has no idea about the new regulations. I directed him to the info all over google/internet.

Really, his pricing is not to bad. Unless one of you bids me up, of course!:D $42 plus $10.50 for ten pounds. So about $53 for 10 pounds is $5.30/pound for fresh picked raw almonds. Not to bad a deal, methinks. So long as they are truly raw. Which is how they are advertised.


Mary, I will trade you.....hmmmmmm......one of my kids for some pomegranites? LOL Seriously, my daughter and I could pick away at one of those things all day. So delicious! Maybe I need to move to Ca? In Missouri we have acorns and pecans. Neither of which I have. I am going to plant sweet cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, and pears next year. (although we will most likely move in two or three years -- I may have to resort to growing them in giant pots!) We have a GINORMOUS grape vine but we had early warm with later freeze and well, that did in peaches, grapes, and pretty much all that is delicious.:( I suspect we have a peach tree as well but, well, you know, the freeze and all. We just bought this place in December so it is our first year here. Moved from South Dakota. Brrrr. This winter was almost like living in Hawaii for us! LOL We never got below zero let alone down to 30 below! My tomatoes are coming along nicely and I have been plucking fresh basil for a while. Peppers have been neglected. oops. Now who did that?:o

Off topic! Anyway, if we get desperate we will have to send Mary on an almond run for us!


.......darn 4 image thing.....

[Mary]

Star, actually, I'm Sicilian too! (no Mafia though! :D) There seems to be something about being Italian that makes you want to desperately grow things, especially to eat, because you know, Italians/Sicilians... we LOVE food! :D

Shine - I wish everyone lived closer! My garden is my haven from this crazy life I live... I know you understand, having children with autism too!

Tiggerbounce Thanks also for your nice comments about my garden!

You know, there really isn't much more satisfying than picking your own fresh fruit! The weather this year has been great, so I'm going to have a bumper crop! Why aren't you guys closer so you can help me eat all this?! :)

I also put in a bid for the almonds (10 lbs.). Not my neighbor... really!

Yes, his price is a great deal, but if he is a small grower with low overhead, this could be why. SunOrganic sells their raw almonds for a bit over $10/lb. and "Whole Paycheck" (aka Whole Foods) sells them for even more. If his nuts are as good as his eBay feedback, I will be very happy!

Most eBay sellers are more than happy to sell directly to you, but eBay REALLY does not like this!

The area that this eBay seller says he is from is one of the major almond growing areas of the state. The other area where there are huge almond groves is down the road from me; about a 45 min. - 1 hour drive. If this doesn't pan out, I am going to drive down to where the orchards are and buy direct! I can see it now... "Mary the Almond Dealer..." secretly supplying my raw buddies with raw almonds! :eek:

Seriously, if it does come down to it being very difficult to acquire raw almonds, I will be happy to help anyone who can't get them. I have found 5 or 6 farms close to me and I am going to contact them about direct sales. I know one major organic almond grower has publicly stated that he is going to lose his entire raw almond business because of this. He is one of the guys I'm going to call.

I'll keep you guys posted on what I'm able to find out and also the quality of this seller's almonds if I win!

Take care!

Mary

[Elle_Murphy]

Oh maaan, not a bad price at all, but I hope it continues to be that way after the reads the news you directed him to.

I'm def not ready for a bid yet. I think it's all yours.

[Mary]

Hi gang,

Just wanted to let you know that I received my almonds today from the seller on eBay! Excellent quality nuts... nice sweet flavor! I haven't tried to sprout them or anything, but I ate a handful out of the bag when they arrived today!

Shipping was very fast; I'm in California, but it's nice to know that he ships immediately after payment - he's a nice guy as well!

Very happy with the almonds, so you guys should feel very confident bidding from him.

Hope this helps,

Mary

[tiggerbounce]

Yay! My auction has not yet closed so am still waiting. I only bid on five pounds, not quite the risk taker you are! LOL

Good to know. I am sure I will have results to post next week as well.

[queenfluff]

I hate to burst everyones bubble. But after Sept 1 what this Ebay Seller will be doing will technically be illegal.

The only permissable sales of unpasteurized raw almonds after Sept 1 2007 will be hand to hand only in small quantity at stands outside the California almond farms.

To ship sold unpasteurized raw almonds to anyone in the US will be illegal.

If you had a friend that bought the unpasteurized raw almonds in California (hand to hand sales) and then shipped them to you as a gift (and cleverly packaged them) than you might be alright.

Hopefully Ebay doesn't catch on for a while. It will probably take a while after Sept 1 for any "crackdown" on small sellers but still be aware of this - that it might not last very long.

Is this guy selling ORGANIC? it doesn't say.

There are several groups who are petitioning for an exception to the raw almond pasteurization rule for small organic growers. This will be probably take a while but please support these efforts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFLivingFoods/message/2412