A handful of Medjuls The Medjul (Medjool) has earned the reputation of being "King of the Dates". It gets this title for two reasons. The first is that it is the most popular date in the US, when most people think of dates they usually are thinking of the Medjul. The second reason is that when it comes to size it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest date in the world.
Picking Medjuls in the early morning The Medjul is originally from the Tafilalet region of Morocco. However there was a large outbreak of Bayoud disease that killed off over 15 million trees, and severely crippled the cultivation of Medjul. Fortunately a strain of Medjul trees that had a resistance to the Bayoud disease was found and in 1927 11 Medjul offshoots were brought to the USA.
Due to concern of an outbreak of Bayoud disease in the USA, the trees were not planted in California or Arizona as were the other varieties, but rather were grown in quarantine in Nevada. Then in 1935 the 9 surviving trees (two were dug up by a dog shortly after being planted) and their offshoots were allowed to leave quarantine, and the cultivation of the Medjul in the US started, and it soon became the most popular date in the US.
Due to concern of an outbreak of Bayoud disease in the USA, the trees were not planted in California or Arizona as were the other varieties, but rather were grown in quarantine in Nevada. Then in 1935 the 9 surviving trees (two were dug up by a dog shortly after being planted) and their offshoots were allowed to leave quarantine, and the cultivation of the Medjul in the US started, and it soon became the most popular date in the US.
Removing an individual date The Medjul is revered for its large size, in order to increase the size of the Medjul to satisfy consumers, the bunches of Medjul are very heavily thinned, more so than any other variety. Not only are the number of bunches on the tree reduced, but the number of strands are reduced to 25 to 30 on each bunch, as well as reducing by one-third to a half the number of dates on each strand. This is a very labor intensive process, and contributes to the higher price charged for the Medjul.
So many Medjuls, So little time As a tree the Medjul is average in comparison to other varieties of dates tress. The spread of the fronds is about 28 ft. which is greater than the Deglet at 27 ft but smaller than the Barhi at 30 ft. The height of the tree is less than that of the Deglet but greater than the Barhi. The fact that the tree grows strait makes it a very attractive tree, and it is used heavily in landscaping.
The Medjul as stated before is a very large date. It has a reddish brown color when ripe, and is classified as a soft variety, although it is tougher than other soft varieties like the Barhi. The Medjuls are ready in mid September, and will be picked until November. They will be available for mail order, or at the farm at this time. If you wish to learn more about our dates please contact us at the e-mail address listed on the contact page.
The Medjul as stated before is a very large date. It has a reddish brown color when ripe, and is classified as a soft variety, although it is tougher than other soft varieties like the Barhi. The Medjuls are ready in mid September, and will be picked until November. They will be available for mail order, or at the farm at this time. If you wish to learn more about our dates please contact us at the e-mail address listed on the contact page.
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