Milleans Orchards partners with small, family-owned farms across California’s Central Valley to grow and produce organic Fuyu persimmons. Milleans was founded by John Donovan, a trained gardener and landscaper.

Milleans Orchards started in 2010 when a unique opportunity presented itself to John. One of his customers bought an abandoned Fuyu persimmon orchard, and asked him to manage it. John revived the neglected 360-tree orchard and began selling these persimmons at local markets in 2014 – the same year Milleans converted to organic.

John has since then made it his mission to revive ailing and underperforming persimmon trees. He now manages 30 acres of land, across five different farms, and has saved thousands of persimmon trees.

Because Milleans works with many different farms, the small team of pickers and growers must be mobile, sometimes traveling to a different farm each day. This presents a logistical challenge to the crew, but also enables Milleans to offer a consistent supply– when one orchard slows down, another one is producing more than enough. Fuyu persimmons are difficult to grow and harvest, but the team works hard to hand prune and pick the fruit.

Fun fact: The name Milleans Orchards comes from the combined names of Miles and Leanne. They are two children of the orchard owner who first began working with John back in 2010.