Red Globe Peach orchard August 1, not ready yet!

Our certified organic orchards

So what is that, you might ask. Our farm has been certified organic for nearly two decades. It is extra work to become certified as the paperwork, audit trails, and inspections all take time away from farming activities. But it is important for our customers to be assured that what they buy from us is truly grown with only organic inputs.

The fruit this year has definitely been impacted by heat and drought, as has the rest of the country. We've had enough water so far because we are using micro-sprinklers and that reduces water waste. Some of our farm neighbors will not have water after the first week of August. Some ditches ran dry in July.

One consequence we couldn't avoid though, is the hot temperatures in June that affect the size of individual fruit, so the peaches and apples may not be as large as in previous years.

Our Gala apple orchard, photo taken August 1, might be ready a week earlier than the usual Labor Day harvest.

Fruit prognosis is good!

The orchards in the North Fork Valley did some funny things this year! All the fruit — plums, apricots, pears, cherries, and apples with a few exceptions — bloomed at the same time! One speculation is that warmer winter temps plus enough cold degree days meant the trees woke up right up when we had 80° temps in March.

This spring we hired Emily, who was an intern on our farm a few years ago, as our orchard manager. We are excited to have Emily with us this year! This is her fourth year of working in orchards.

Babydolls snoozing in the peach orchard

Orchard Years 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

Vineyard Years 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006