In 1999, Dan Lehrer and Joanne Krueger needed a change. They had been operating Flatland Flower Farm, a small plant nursery, out of their backyard in Berkeley, California, but city life and city space were limiting. A charming little house in the middle of 22 acres of apple orchard in the hills west of Sebastopol became the bigger backyard for a growing business.
The husband and wife team creates fresh value-added products from heirloom apples growing in the now-certified organic orchard. The pressed juice and dried apple bits are combined with other locally grown ingredients to craft sweet granolas and sticky caramels, among other treats.