Why Agave
Agaves are succulents and are well equipped to survive in desert conditions. They make use of CAM photosynthesis which allows plants to respirate at night, capture and retain dew on their leaves and then close their pores (stomata) reducing evapotranspiration during daylight hours. This allows agaves to survive in desert environments.
Unlike many other plants, agave can propagate in numerous ways: from seeds, bulbils (a secondary plant that is formed when the plant flowers), or by clones, aka “hijuelos”. Hijuelos are offshoots of a mother plant which can be harvested and replanted almost immediately. While plants grown from seeds offer greater genetic diversity, they require additional time & handling than clones. California Agave Growers offers clones (hijuelos) which originated in Mexico but are grown in California and seed for agave varieties which do not produce clones. We currently have seeds for Tobala, Tepeztate, Mexicana and Karwinskii. We are also working with a commercial greenhouse to propogate these seed grown agaves to sell as potted starters.
Most parts of California are well suited for Agave production.
Areas of California which have long, hot summers and short periods of frost seem suitable as growing agaves. Weber Azul, aka Blue Agave, is sensitive to hard frosts which represents one of California’s greatest farm risks. With that said, our fields have dipped to 25 degrees F for very short periods of time with little to no impact.
California’s Central Valley summers tend to be longer and hotter than the town of Tequila in Jalisco MX. Our hope is we can grow a plant faster, larger and with more sugar with the use of drip irrigation, than our counterparts south of the border.
We sell agaves brought from Mexico and grown in California.
California Agave Growers: A starting point for those interested in growing a drought tolerant crop in California.
Our team in Mexico sources from select growers in Jalisco, Oaxaca, & Michoacan. We look for strong plants from good growers. Random samples are then inspected at an independent plant pathology lab. From there, the plants are trucked to our warehouse for processing and packaging. The process ensures we meet all phytosanitary requirements for export and are examined by a registered state inspection agency. They are further inspected by US custom officials at the US border, again at the California border and lastly, by our county ag commissioner. All loads are fumigated to reduce the risk of invasive species.
California Agave Growers offer several agave clones (hijuelos) available for sale including Weberi, Deserti, Lemeno, Mapisaga, Salmiana, Americana & Oaxacensis to name a few. The majority of our offerings are Weber Azul and Espadin. We also offer agave seed for non-clonal varieites.