Pixie tangerines are very popular in Ojai. The sweet, petite, and great to eat fruit is a town favorite. April is officially Ojai Pixie Tangerine month, with banners hung in the Arcade, while shops and restaurants create special pixie drinks, food dishes and displays to celebrate this unique taste treat. At the local schools, where growers do a yearly pixie giveaway of 800 pounds of tangerines per school, the delicious fruit is gone in minutes. The kids love it so much they call it citrus candy. Some of it even makes it home for their parents to enjoy.

Marketed through co-op family farmers, the Ojai Valley Pixie Growers Assoc., this specialty fruit, seedless and easy to peel, finds its way to the east coast and as far away as Japan. Pixies are handed out at the Ojai Tennis Tournament and even used as local wedding decor and favors.

We take our Pixies seriously, participating in "meet the farmer" events at grocery stores around the country to introduce folks to our great-tasting fruit. With your very own Pixie grove, you can be part of the magic.

This 10-acre family farm has come down through three generations of the close-knit Hartmann family. After years as a horse pasture, this virgin soil was first planted to pixies in 2001. On a very hot summer day, kids and adults alike joined the workers to plant pixie tangerine tree seedlings and be sure they got properly watered in. At noon, we all gathered together for a potluck lunch in the shade of one of two heritage oaks on the property, sitting at an old picnic table and on the tailgate of the ranch truck. Like most good things, we had to wait for the trees to mature before we could taste the first Pixies from our land, but it was worth the wait. Juicy and oh-so-sweet.. utterly delicious.

The trees are in prime production now, so you won't have to wait to enjoy an Ojai pixie tangerine.