Plainville, MA – Red Tomato, the non-profit that brings local, sustainably grown produce to the wholesale market, announces the new crop of “ECO PEACH,” a delicious and healthy choice for those who prefer local fruit grown to stringent environmental standards. The fruit is available at Whole Foods, Balducci’s and other stores throughout the Northeast, starting this week.
Three Connecticut orchards are ‘Eco Peach’ certified for the 2013 season: Lyman Orchards, Rogers Orchards, and Blue Hills Orchard. All are among the region’s top producers known for high quality fruit. They are part of an Eco Stone Fruit program involving scientists from the University of Connecticut, the IPM Institute of North America, Inc. and Red Tomato, a Boston-area nonprofit.
“Our Eco Peach program, like our successful Eco AppleTM program, is a groundbreaking collaboration between our region’s finest family farmers and scientists. Together they have developed truly sustainable ways to produce delicious wholesale fruit in the uniquely challenging eastern-region growing conditions,” said Michael Rozyne, Red Tomato Executive Director.
Red Tomato’s Eco Peach program was piloted in 2010, and the first eco-certified fruit was made available on a limited basis in 2011. The peaches are available throughout the region for the first time in 2013, thanks in part to cooperative weather during the growing season that has resulted in a bountiful crop.
The Eco Peach program also includes other stone fruit like plums, nectarines, and apricots, and is based on another successful Red Tomato program, Eco Apples™. Launched in 2005, the Eco Apple program now includes 20 orchards, with annual sales of over $1.4 million.
Eco Fruit: Healthy Alternative for Humans and Bees
Red Tomato’s Eco Fruit program is based on advanced Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which relies primarily on the least-toxic and natural growing methods, such as biological controls, along with extensive monitoring of trees, pests and environmental conditions.
“When farmers grow according to Red Tomato’s Eco guidelines, they reduce the use of high toxicity pesticides, contribute to a bountiful supply of top quality local foods, and improve farm worker safety, soil and water resources, wildlife habitat and biodiversity,” explained Lorraine Los, former Fruit Crops IPM Coordinator in the Plant Science Department at the University of Connecticut and one of the scientists who helped develop Red Tomato’s Eco Peach protocol.
“Eco growers work hard to protect pollinators and other beneficial insects, which they rely on to maintain a healthy balance in the orchard,” notes Rozyne. Growers in the Red Tomato network have worked tirelessly to reduce the use of toxins within the Eco program, including limiting the use of organophosphates and neonicotinods, two classes of pesticides which have drawn concern recently for their potential harm to bees and human health. Eco Peach growers are committed to continual advancement of their production methods to reduce pesticide use.
Look for Red Tomato’s Eco Peach baskets in produce departments throughout the Northeast region beginning in late July and running through September.
About the Eco-certified Orchards
The three orchards certified for the 2012 Eco Peach crop all have long history in the region:
- Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, CT, has been under the stewardship of the same family for over 250 years. Current grower John Lyman has developed a thriving crop of tree-ripened peaches resulting in the kind of juicy, flavorful peaches that were common to this region since the early 1900s.
- In Southington, CT, Rogers Orchards boasts eight generations of family farmers. John Rogers, inspired by time he spent on an orchard in the Netherlands studying progressive, high-density fruit cultivation, now manages the orchard, which is known for being the largest apple orchard in Connecticut.
- Also in the Connecticut River Valley is Blue Hills Orchard, where the Henry family has been growing peaches since 1904. "Farming is a way of life," explains Eric Henry. "It's in our blood. It can be quite a challenge but the rewards definitely come through. It's great to live in the middle of an orchard!"
About Red Tomato
Red Tomato's mission is to connect farmers and consumers through marketing, trade, and education. Red Tomato believes that a locally-based, ecological, fair trade, family farm food system is the way to a better tomato (and peach.) For information, visit http://www.redtomato.org/ecopeach.php
Source: Red Tomato