Love the taste of sweet California dates ? They taste better than candy to me. I buy the harvest through ebay in bulk this time of year for my yearly supply. Can anyone actually grow this delicious fruit?
I’m growing a few date palms from seeds (date palm pups are crazy expensive and younger ones which are a bit cheaper have low survival probability). Still a long way from getting any fruit. Date palms grow well in my area but generally it is considered not hot enough for successful date fruit production. However, if next summers will be as hot as this one, dates will ripen fine here.
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How do you use the yellow dates?
@clarkinks In the Khalal stage, dates can be eaten and feel like any other fruit, say apples for instance. In the three following stages, they are intensely sweet, and they feel like eating a piece of very sweet chocolate (melting in the case of Rutab and solid n the case of Tamr), so they are usually eaten with coffee, tea or milk to balance the intense sweetness. They can also be stuffed with walnuts or almonds, and they taste great that way.
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I certainly can’t grow them so I get variety packs here but they haven’t started shipping.
http://7hotdates.com/hotmess.html
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Ebay has some incredible buys every year around this time. These are yellow dates picked and shipped to me in the original date palm cluster that was cut.
I usually keep my dates with my potatoes and other stored items
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I’m trying few seedlings myself, they have been stuck at the one leaf stage for a while now, based on the volunteers I see around, I’m actually not very excited but you’d never know, as long as it’s an edible female, I would be happy 
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Is there a link? I’d like to check it out as well
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Oh, do I?
“They taste better than candy to me.”
Indeed.
Four decades now and counting, every time I pass through Cabazon via I-10, whether business or leisure, the pit-stop at Hadley’s is mandatory. This all began during summers spent with my grandparents and our weekly drive from Sunnymead to Palm Springs for dinner out every Friday. Ya, grandpa Fig loved him some dates. Cannot say that fondness was lost on me. These days I’ll grab wat I think will last until the next visit, though it never does. Unfortunately, I only get that way two or three times a year. Some times less. Oh, the horror! How’s a date shake make for that cherry-on-top? Nommnommnomm, yiiiiiiiisss 
Also, passing by the nearby orchards lined of palms for as far as you can see is pretty neat.
Taken a year and a half ago it was not getting enough water due to broken pvc line. Not the standard (read: delicious) date bearing trees, mind you, but both palms push quite a bit of fruits. Nothing I’d consider taste-testing as of yet. Maybe next year as they looked to be pretty sizeable this season. Purchased in three gallon pots, they’re just over sixteen years in the ground and doing well considering the extreme high desert climate.
Never thought to look at ebay for these delectable delights , but thanks for the idea. Gonna give it a go.
A big thanks for starting this thread and the wonderfully nostalgic ride down memory lane it bestowed me
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@californicus there are lots of sellers whos harvest is ripe enjoy! Make sure they have good ratings! Here is the link for 11 pound boxes Dates - 11 LB Box | eBay . Sellers like this are common with over 150 sales this year 100% rating | eBay
11 pounds of medjool dates should cost $37 - $39 during harvest = just over $3 pound. Some years you can get bargains of mixed dates or older dates very inexpensive.
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These were labeled “california honey dates” but after googling, i think they’re barhi dates. The length is around 1.25" and the taste is a bit like perfectly sweet Coco jam. Not cloying sweet like the prepackaged medjool dates i see a lot of. Anyone have an idea what these could likely be if not barhi? I’ve sprouted a few of the seeds and not expecting much but I’ll see how far it’ll go coz the taste was just collection-worthy to me…
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They’re Barhi.
Very few dates are sold in the khalal stage in California, and only Barhi looks like Barhi. Most of the other khalal dates are longer and skinnier.
These are Barhi dates. The soft ones in your hand are just wonderful…