File:The Old Orchard Gate - Flickr - A Guy Named Nyal.jpg

There weren't any grocery stores in the neighborhood so they had to grow their own.

This is the gate and path to the old orchard at the Mission San José de Tumacácori. Like I said above there wasn't any infrastructure here in the 1800s so if they wanted to eat they had to grow their own.

"Between 1801 and 1828, a 4.6 acre orchard and garden was in use at San José de Tumacácori. Historical evidence such as missionary records and journals from ‘49ers on the way to California indicate that fruit trees, including peach, quince, pear, apple, pecan, walnut, fig, mulberry, and pomegranate, contributed to the sustenance of mission communities along with grape vineyards, grain fields, vegetable and pharmacy gardens, and livestock. www.nps.gov/tuma/learn/nature/heritage-orchard.htm

The National Park Service has worked with the "University of Arizona, and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to launch a collaborative effort called the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project. The objective of this project was to locate historical documents in Mexico and the United States to identify communities where fruit trees descended from the Spanish Mission System might still grow. The results identified 21 towns in Arizona and Sonora which fit the criteria. During visits to these towns eleven fruit cultivars were identified as being appropriate for the project. Seeds, cuttings and grafting material were then collected for propagation from the suitable trees. www.nps.gov/tuma/learn/nature/heritage-orchard.htm