Survival of the Peachiest

By Anonymous -
Many growers this year lost their peach crops due to the early spring cold snap. Fortunately, our farm partner, Mr. Johnson has peaches in abundance! Thanks to our partnership with Mr. Johnson over the past four years, we are some of the lucky North Carolinians who get to enjoy local peaches.


The Johnson family farm was founded in 1934 in Candor, NC (Montgomery County). Mr. Johnson has seen a bit of change during his farming years. As a child, he rode the mule-driven wagon; today, the farm has an irrigation system and a website. Originally, the farm produced tobacco, cotton and a few peach varieties, and the season only lasted about four or five weeks. Over time, the Johnsons realized that changing times required a changing farm, so they grew less cotton and tobacco, and the primary crop became peaches.

Mr. Johnson, now 83, tends to 50 acres of orchards, filled with 10,000 peach trees of 50 different varieties. That once short four to five week harvest season has grown to about four to five months, late May until October. The farm is family-owned and operated, run by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Johnson and his field workers tend to the trees, which are harvested by hand while standing on 4-foot ladders picking the fruit off the 8-foot trees. Peach trees don’t offer much shade, so it’s hard work!

Do the Johnsons get time off? Not really. The winter is when they set new plantings, pull out old plantings and make repairs to the irrigation system. Mr. Johnson jokes that nature sometimes “freezes” his paycheck. Warm early spring days can fool the trees into flowering early. Then, if a freeze hits in late April, the trees lose the flowers and suffer damage, which is what happened to so many this year. Despite the late freezes, long hours and hard work, Mr. Johnson says he has a good life. He and Mrs. Johnson have been married 58 years, and “it’s been a good pairing and a good life on the farm.” He is grateful to be able to produce peaches for such a long time!


Next time you take a bit of the juicy peaches in your Produce Box, say a thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LOCAL LOVE February Giveaway!

By -
Image
Cold and snow, then rain and muggy... we're dreaming of summer already!  And those summer berries! Well dream no more!  As part of our February LOCAL LOVE giveaways, we have 3 jars of TPB BLUEBERRY JAM for 3 lucky TPB members! SImply leave a comment on this blog post with your best guess on HOW MANY varieties of blueberries can be grown in North Carolina... we'll pick 3 winners at 5 pm tomorrow to get our JAM in their next Produce Box!
Read more

The Produce Box vs. The Produce Aisle

By -
Image
If you’re trying to decide if a Produce Box membership is for you, you may be wondering, “Can’t I get this stuff at the grocery store? And is it cheaper there?” Well, the answer to both those questions would be sometimes. The grocery store doesn’t always have everything the farmers of North Carolina can offer.  And sometimes, you may not like the reasons WHY the grocery store is cheaper. Farmers make pennies per pound from the grocery stores, and they often have to wait 30-60 days (or MORE!) to get their payment. At The Produce Box, we pay every single one of our farmers when they deliver the food to us.  In addition to this, the produce at the grocery stores often comes from across the country (1500 miles on average!) or even other countries, and has traveled for days or weeks to get to you -- it's definitely not the most fresh choice or LOCAL by any means! Keep in mind, too, that by buying from us, you’re also supporting their effort to DO GOOD in our communit...
Read more

Recipe Redo - Chicken Enchiladas

By -
Image
Guest post from our friend (and member!) Kate at  Life of A Ginger This week my Produce Box delivery contained Cara Cara Red Flesh Navel Oranges (our favorite variety), Mixed-Organic Salad Greens,   Joyce Farms Naked Chicken  Breast Tenders, zucchini, yellow squash, vine ripe tomatoes, and avocados. Plus, two small bags of my all time FAVORITE chips, made right here in North Carolina,  Carolina Kettle Cozumel Jalapeno Queso Kettle Chips .  They are so good I have to lock them away from my husband and kids! (Want to join The Produce Box? Click here and then read on!) My family and I have been on a real health-kick the past few weeks (except for my small Carolina Kettle chip habit). I’ve been replacing a lot of carbs like pasta and rice for steamed or roasted vegetables. We have been eating a lot more vegetable-laden salads, and cutting out items like juice, sugary cereal, and desserts. But I’ve been avoiding cooking a family favorite, Te...
Read more