Finding Peaches in Eastern WA

[Guest guest]

Hello,

My Mom is driving from Montana to Seattle on Monday and said that she would like

to find some peaches.  I suggested she find some organic or at least pesticide

free and she said " sounds great, you fing them for me and I'll buy them! "

 

So, does anyone in the group know if there is a place off I-90 (like Ellensburg)

that has organic or pesticide free peaches?

 

I need to get the info to her by Sunday, cause she is leaving early Monday

morning.

 

THANKS!

Paula

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Paula,

Most of the fruit in Washington is grown in the Wenatchee or Yakima areas with

more of the organic fruit coming from the Wenatchee, Chelan, or Okanogan areas.

The I-90 corridor from the Columbia River to Snoqualmie Pass is ultra

conservative and world be more likely to open another steak house than to open

an organic fruit stand. I'm not saying there isn't one as I haven't checked

recently, just that it seems unlikely. Also, very little fruit is grown in that

area as it is much more suited to pasture than orchards, thus the steak house

orientation.

 

Your mother might considering using US 2 to get to Seattle rather than I-90. It

crosses northern Montana, dips down to Spokane, then goes west through Wenatchee

to Stevens pass and then to Everett. US 2 is much more scenic than I-90, though

it is a bit slower, and I much prefer it to I-90. For a few miles in downtown

Spokane, US 2 and I-90 share the same freeway, so she could take I-90 to

Spokane, and then use US 2 to cross Washington.

 

Organic produce is still a specialty crop, that few tourists would ever pay the

premium for, and I haven't ever found an organic produce stand other than at an

organic farm or orchard. So this is why I'm suggesting she drive through an area

that does have some organic fruit producers. I don't know of an organic producer

or fruit stand on the US 2 corridor, though somebody else might. The ones I've

heard of would require a side trip.

 

Many of the organic fruit producers are small family orchards, and so they

bought less expensive land up in obscure valleys where the land was cheap enough

that they could afford to buy it, thus the side trips required to visit them.

 

I gave up looking for these as I was driving around eastern Washington as I

found that visiting the University District Farmers Market, or the Tilth Harvest

Fair in Wallingford in early September, were much easier ways to find regional

organic fruit growers that sell by the case rather than by the pallet load.

 

If somebody knows of an organic fruit stand along the US 2 corridor, I'd

appreciate hearing about it.

 

May your day be filled with clarity, grace, strength, progress, and warm

laughter,

Roger

 

-

" Paula Wood " <wolfmother1

 

Saturday, August 15, 2009 1:04 AM

Finding Peaches in Eastern WA

 

 

Hello,

My Mom is driving from Montana to Seattle on Monday and said that she would like

to find some peaches. I suggested she find some organic or at least pesticide

free and she said " sounds great, you fing them for me and I'll buy them! "

 

So, does anyone in the group know if there is a place off I-90 (like Ellensburg)

that has organic or pesticide free peaches?

 

I need to get the info to her by Sunday, cause she is leaving early Monday

morning.

 

THANKS!

Paula

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Roger wrote: " ... very little fruit is grown in that area as it is much more

suited to pasture than orchards, thus the steak house orientation. "

 

Although the region you refer to does have its share of animal agriculture

(and steak houses:)), in many areas between the Columbia River and the

Cascade mountains, fruit growing is the #1 industry. I grew up in one.

 

Best wishes,

Nora

[Guest guest]

Hi Paula,

Certified organics are still hard to find in Eastern Washington. Your best

chance of getting organic fruit over there is to find backyard growers who

don't spray their trees. However, peaches are rare. I've looked for them

in Ellensburg, Cle Elum and Wenatchee and have only found a couple trees.

 

For me, overall quality trumps the organic vs. conventional issue and I have

found some very high quality conventionally grown fruit in Eastern

Washington. If it matters, peach and nectarine trees are not sprayed while

they are bearing fruit. The best fruit stand near Ellensburg is the little

one behind the large Thorpe fruit stand just west of Ellensburg. The name

escapes me at the moment but she won't miss it if she takes the Thorpe exit.

 

Happy hunting,

Nora

 

 

 

 

 

So, does anyone in the group know if there is a place off I-90 (like

Ellensburg) that has organic or pesticide free peaches?

[Guest guest]

Hi Nora,

What county did you grow up in? Are you saying you grew up in Kittitas County

and that there is a lot of fruit grown in Kittitas County?

 

How you quote me seems to be taken out of context. I was referring to the

stretch of I-90 between Vantage, where I-90 crosses the Columbia River, to

Snoqualmie Pass, and this whole stretch of freeway is in Kittitas County.

 

The climate of Kittitas Valley is quite different from the many valleys in

Yakima and Chelan Counties. I did say in my email that a lot of fruit is grown

in the Yakima and Chelan areas which are the counties immediately south and

north of Kittitas County. Some of the most productive orchards in Yakima and

Chelan Counties are along the Columbia River.

 

There was some land in Vantage, more suitable for orchards, but much of this got

flooded out after the Wanapum dam was built.

 

I spent a lot of time about 12 years ago looking for land in Kittitas County,

and d to the local paper during that period. My comments on the pasture

orientation of Kittitas County are based on my experience there, and what I read

in their paper, compared to all of my experiences in all the other counties on

the east side of the Cascades.

 

It was my understanding that at that time, when I was subscribing to their

newspaper, that hay was the number one export crop from Kittitas Valley because

the climate was harsh enough to make it challenging to be financially successful

with orchards in the Kittitas Valley. A climate harsh for fruit trees was

excellent for hay. They were actually packing hay into shipping containers and

shipping it to Japan, and so hay was a good source of foreign exchange for the

economy. Part of the problem in Kittitas Valley is that the orchards in the more

sheltered valleys in Yakima and Chelan Counties tend to be more productive, and

so many orchards in the Kittitas Valley are at a economic disadvantage competing

with more productive orchards in neighboring counties. Few places have a climate

so suited for growing hay, which is why hay in Kittitas Valley was of such a

high quality that they could successfully export it to Japan.

 

May your day be filled with clarity, grace, strength, progress, and warm

laughter,

Roger

 

-

" Nora Lenz " <nmlenz

 

Saturday, August 15, 2009 7:13 AM

Re: Finding Peaches in Eastern WA

 

 

> Roger wrote: " ... very little fruit is grown in that area as it is much more

> suited to pasture than orchards, thus the steak house orientation. "

>

> Although the region you refer to does have its share of animal agriculture

> (and steak houses:)), in many areas between the Columbia River and the

> Cascade mountains, fruit growing is the #1 industry. I grew up in one.

>

> Best wishes,

> Nora

>

>

>

>

> ---

>

> Visit the Seattle Raw Foods Community: http://.org! Groups

Links

>

>

>

>

 

 

[Guest guest]

Apologies, Roger. I thought you were referring to the entire region

westward from where the Columbia River passes through the Tri Cities to the

Cascades. I grew up in Yakima County. I've lived in Kittitas County too,

and you're right, there's not much there in the way of fruit.

Nora

 

 

> Hi Nora,

> What county did you grow up in? Are you saying you grew up in Kittitas

> County and that there is a lot of fruit grown in Kittitas County?

[Guest guest]

Hi Lois,

I have been to some orchards in Naches but not Razey. Thanks for the info.

Nora

 

 

Nora, didn't you come and visit an orchard in Naches, WA? Razey organic

cherries. Peaches are the better fruit, like you say, doesn't get sprayed

once the fruit comes on.

 

Lois

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for chiming in.  It's good to know they don't spray once the

peaches have started forming - I didn't know that before!!

 

I'll recommend my mom just stop by that place in Elllensburg Nora mentioned. 

 

THANKS!

Paula