Andy Mariani breaks open one of his many varieties of ripe plums at the Andy’s Orchard on Half Road in Morgan Hill July 22. Photo: Michael Moore

Fans of fresh, ripe and local fruit will want to venture to Andy’s Orchard in east Morgan Hill before the short stone fruit harvest is complete in a few weeks. 

Owned and operated by renowned grower Andy Mariani, the orchard off Half Road features many unique, rare and boutique varieties—many developed by Mariani himself—of plums, peaches, nectarines and pluots. Earlier this summer, Mariani’s tree-ripened cherries and apricots flew off the shelves at the farm’s fruit stand at 1615 Half Road. 

As of July 22, the farm was in the midst of their peach and nectarine harvest. Mariani took a moment to talk about what’s fresh while a steady stream of customers moved through the fruit stand, whose tables were filled with more than a dozen varieties of stone fruit. 

“This is when our sun shines bright and we have a tremendous selection of peaches and nectarines,” Mariani said. 

Andy’s Orchard also offers an “ugly fruit program,” which consists of windfalls and other “cosmetically challenged” fruit that is sold at a discount, Mariani said. “They have the same eating quality as the premium fruit, but for only half price.” 

The Mariani family settled in Santa Clara Valley in the 1930s, and in 1957 began growing fruit trees on the current site of Andy’s Orchard. Today, Andy Mariani prides himself on the reliably premium quality of the farm’s cherries, and maintaining one of the largest collections of stone fruits on the west coast. 

Morgan Hill resident Don McCown, a “backyard” fruit tree grower, speaks with Andy Mariani (not pictured) July 22 about what is in season at Andy’s Orchard’s fruit stand on Half Road. Photo: Michael Moore
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Michael Moore is an award-winning journalist who has worked as a reporter and editor for the Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Gilroy Dispatch since 2008. During that time, he has covered crime, breaking news, local government, education, entertainment and more.

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