Peaches

Dear All:

Peaches! I love peaches! Georgia is the Peach State and you would think that we would have a plethora of choices for Organic Peaches. Regrettably, we do not! After 3 days of fairly solid research, I am unable to find one peach producer in the state that grows organically.

Here are some things that I have learned:

1. Most conventional peach Farmers use the “Integrated Pest Management System”which is regulated by the federal government! Well, that pretty much tells the story…)

2. They must lay out little pest traps and catch pests that are around the trees. They then determine if they are good pests or bad pests and spray the surrounding trees (usually an acre or more) with a pesticide to get rid of the bad pest. They must keep detailed records of what was sprayed, where it was sprayed and results.

3. If a tree develops mold/fungus, they determine the type and spray that tree as well as the surrounding trees, up to an acre.

4. Once picked the peaches are treated with a synthetic fungicide and a coating of a petroleum based agent to ‘seal’ the fruit and keep it ‘fresh’ until we bring it home! (uh, how can something be called “fresh” if it is covered with a pesticide and oil?)

After speaking, at length, with 2 different folks at Pearson Farms, there is no doubt that they farm conventionally. While they told me they do not routinely spray trees and only spray the surrounding trees if there is a problem, they wouldn’t commit to saying that they spray up to an ACRE of surrounding trees. But, after further research, that is exactly what they do. They also use a synthetic fungicide after the peaches are picked. Their peaches are available at $1.00 per pound and you can get them at Kroger for that price!

Yucky, Yucky, Yucky!

Although Mary and I both believe in supporting our local Farmers and Growers, we stand by our mission to provide pesticide/chemical/GMO free products to you. Although NOT local, our best option is Watsonia Farms in South Carolina. I spent the entire morning on the phone with these folks, as well as speaking with people who routinely buy their organic products and am convinced that if we want peaches this is the Farm to support.

Watsonia Farms is over 100 years old and is run by the same family that started it those many years ago. I spoke with Brandon, the Director for the Atlanta Market and he told me that Jerry, Joe and Jeph are the current stewards of the Farm and although Jerry and Joe are in their 60’s they are progressive thinkers and work to maintain the sustainability of the farm. (I might have taken exception to the fact that Brandon described them as “older” and that he was amazed at their ‘progressive and adventurous’ ideas and practices!) But he was a nice ‘kid’ (probably 30ish) so I didn’t protest too loudly!) You can check out their farm’s website here Watsonia Farms.

So, here is the scoop on pricing:

Peaches are packed in foam in 16lb boxes. Depending on the size of the peaches, there will be anywhere from 48 to 54 peaches per box. The cost for a box is $40. This works out to $2.50 per pound.

If you go to Whole Foods and get the very SAME Organic Peaches from Watsonia, the price is $3.99 per pound. So, ordering them directly is a great savings.

Here is how it will work…at least for this week! If there is enough interest, I will put them out on the Market for as long as they are available.

Email me before 9:00pm Monday night and let me know if you would like a box or a few pounds.

I will calculate the total pounds of orders received and place the order in the morning.

Brandon’s guys will pick up our peaches in South Carolina (freshly picked) tomorrow and bring them to Atlanta.

I will pick up our order on Wednesday from their refrigerated warehouse and they will be in your hands at Market pickup on Thursday. Payment will be due at time of pickup.

Since I am making the trip to pick up the order, I would like to pick up a minimum of 4 boxes.

Something to consider:

Since Organic peaches have ABSOLUTELY no coating on them to delay the ripening and coming to full flavor, Brandon will keep them refrigerated until late Wednesday when I pick them up.

He says that they will probably reach their peak of flavor on Friday and should be refrigerated at that point! Depending on the temperature in your house, they may peak not peak until Saturday – that has to be your call! He says it is important to keep them at room temperature until they reach their peak flavor to avoid them “tasting like store-bought-little-flavored peaches”, but you don’t want to let them go too long! To ensure that they do not get ‘mushy’ it is important to put them in the fridge at the right point!

So, if you would like to enjoy eating some juicy, fresh, Organic Peaches, freeze them, dehydrate them, make preserves with them, then PLEASE respond to this email NOW while you are thinking about it.

You don’t need to change the Subject line! Please specify the number of boxes or pounds you want to pickup at Market!

Got a yummy recipe for peaches? Bring it to Market and Share! See you at Market on Thursday! If you have questions, please call me at 404-432-4337!

Joyful thoughts and bountiful blessings!

~Maryanne and Mary

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