Flying Disc Ranch is an eleven-acre permaculture date farm in Thermal, California, in the heart of the Coachella Valley, one of the only regions in North America capable of producing fully tree-ripened dates. For more than four decades, the ranch has grown dates alongside citrus, figs, pomegranates, and tropical fruit. They do this in a layered, organic system that challenges how desert agriculture is typically done.

Walk into Flying Disc Ranch, and the canopy defines the space. Above your head, date palms. Below your feet, citrus. Between them, figs, pomegranates, mangoes, and guavas compete for the same morning light.

Robert Lower has owned Flying Disc Ranch since 1979. He is a former champion frisbee player – the ranch name is not a UFO reference. Lower is a Santa Barbara gardener by upbringing, and one of California’s more quietly influential advocates for growing dates the hard way: in an edible forest, tree-ripe, and without a packing line.

A Different Way to Grow Dates in California

Most dates grown in the Coachella Valley are harvested before they are fully ripe. Then, finishing takes place in commercial drying facilities. Flying Disc Ranch does the opposite. Every date ripens on the palm, concentrating its sugars and flavor naturally before harvest.

There is no packing line. No conveyor belts. No industrial drying. Each piece of fruit is picked, handled, and sold with minimal intervention. That’s a rarity in California date production and one of the reasons the farm has built a following among chefs and farmers’ market shoppers alike.

From Santa Barbara Fruit Stands to a Coachella Date Ranch

Robert Lower, the founder of Flying Disc Ranch, did not set out to become a date grower. He grew up in Santa Barbara in a large gardening family. In their family, feeding the household meant turning the backyard into a small-scale orchard.

As a young adult, he ran a fruit stand with friends, sourcing citrus and melons from the Coachella Valley. But the experience shifted his perspective. Instead of reselling produce, he wanted to grow it.

In 1979, he purchased an unusual eleven-acre parcel in Thermal, a long, narrow parcel that ended in a point. The land came from a date grower, and the deal itself reflected the crop: part cash, part payment in dates. That land became Flying Disc Ranch.

Why Dates Are One of California’s Most Labor-Intensive Crops

Date farming in California takes heat, time, and physical labor. Each palm requires repeated climbs throughout the season for pollination, thinning, pruning, and harvest. A single tree can demand around 100 hours of labor per year. This makes dates one of the most labor-intensive crops grown in the state.

The climate does the rest. Dates need approximately 2,400 hours of extreme heat, often around 100°F, to fully mature. These are conditions that the Coachella Valley reliably provides.

Dates have another constraint: they are not hybridized in the conventional sense. New varieties can only be developed by planting seedlings and waiting years to see the result. Pollination must be done manually or carefully managed through orchard design.

How Flying Disc Ranch Uses Permaculture to Grow Dates

When Robert attended an intensive permaculture course in Hawaii, he realized he had been practicing it his whole life. “I already had it here,” he says. “I just didn’t have it as intense.”

He returned with a renewed vision. Flying Disc Ranch, already growing under a canopy of date palms and native Washingtonia fan palms (California’s only native palm, most of which are “volunteers” on the property, never intentionally planted), planted 800 citrus trees, 50 fig trees, and 200 pomegranates in a single push. 

More recently, mangoes, guavas, passion fruit, and aloe vera have joined the mix. Tall palms shade and protect the trees below, while interlocking root systems stabilize soil, and mulch retains moisture. The farm is also fully organic, but not certified. Instead, it relies on direct relationships with customers, chefs, and visitors, using an open-door model that prioritizes transparency over certification.

Tree-Ripe and Farm-Packed

Harvest at Flying Disc Ranch begins in mid-October and continues through Thanksgiving. Unlike conventional operations, fruit picking takes place only once fully mature on the tree. 

One row of palms is even left to dry completely on the plant, producing a naturally cured product known on the farm as the “chewy selection,” a favorite among regular buyers.

Nothing edible goes to waste. Damaged fruit becomes date syrup, fallen pollen is collected and sold, and palm seedlings are taken to the market.

A Library of Date Varieties

Because no date has ever been genuinely hybridized, the only way to expand the varietal library is to grow from seed and see what comes up. The farm grows classic varieties such as Medjool, Deglet Noor, Barhi, and Zahidi, as well as older varieties such as Khadrawi and Dayri.

The farm also grows a deep set of what Robert calls “seedling varieties,” including Fat Albert, Luscious Lorraine, Amber, Precioso, and Cire. And then there are the ten or so unnamed seedlings Robert collectively calls his “brown honeys,” which sometimes pick up names from loyal farmers-market customers. One has come to be known as the Root Beer date.

Between named and unnamed varieties, the farm grows more than 30 distinct varieties of dates, a library that exists almost nowhere else in California.

Where to Taste and Buy Flying Disc Ranch Dates

Robert has always sold direct. Flying Disc Ranch’s primary retail channels are farmers’ markets from Santa Monica north, with Santa Barbara, Ojai, Ventura, and several Bay Area markets among the main outlets. Mail order runs through flyingdiscranch.com.

On the restaurant side, Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse has served Flying Disc Ranch dates “as long as I can remember,” Robert says. Waters has come to the farm personally. Outstanding in the Field hosts a few dinners at the ranch each year, and private events and weddings round out the calendar.

If you want to taste the full range, Robert’s advice is to try several varieties side by side at a farmers’ market. “There’s a date for every taste,” he says. “It’s just a matter of finding it.”

Plan Your Coachella Valley Visit

Flying Disc Ranch is not a drop-in farm, but guests can visit during Outstanding in the Field dinners, at private events, or through pre-arranged tours. Pair a Coachella Valley day trip with a stop at Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs, a full Palm Springs and Riverside agritourism itinerary, or a detour to East Jesus or the Salton Sea.

For more California permaculture and desert-farming stories, browse the CA GROWN blog or plan your next agritourism stop on Experience California Agriculture.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Flying Disc Ranch

Where is Flying Disc Ranch?

Flying Disc Ranch is an eleven-acre permaculture farm in Thermal, California, in the heart of the Coachella Valley, approximately five miles from the Coachella Festival polo grounds. The farm has been in operation since 1979.

What kinds of dates does Flying Disc Ranch grow?

The farm grows more than thirty varieties of dates, including worldwide classics (Medjool, Deglet Noor, Barhi, Zahidi, Kudrari, Derry) and a deep library of seedling varieties that Robert Lower and his family have named themselves, including Fat Albert, Luscious Lorraine, Amber, Precioso, and Cire.

Is Flying Disc Ranch organic?

Yes, Flying Disc Ranch is fully organic and permaculture-grown, but not certified. Robert Lower calls the farm “media verified, consumer certified,” an open-door model that relies on direct-to-consumer farmers-market sales and restaurant endorsements rather than third-party certification.

Why are Flying Disc Ranch dates considered higher quality?

Flying Disc Ranch allows dates to ripen on the palm rather than picking them green and commercially drying them. This tree-ripe approach concentrates sugars and flavors naturally. The farm also has no packing machinery and no conveyor belts, which means each date is handled only by the person who picked it.

This article was written by CA GROWN Content Creator Aida Mollenkamp, and images from Salt & Wind.