October 2016 • Country Life in BC It’s not easy being organic
However, Okanagan tree fruit grower prefers the challenge
by TOM WALKER
KELOWNA – Robyn King jokes that her husband, Richard, really wanted a new challenge when he switched their 13 acre apple and peach orchard to organic certification starting in 2007.
“Sometimes I don’t do so well at that challenge,” he quips back.
Richard started moving in the organic direction when he became involved in early trials with Sterile Insect Release (SIR) technology for codling moth control in the Okanagan in the early 1990’s. There was a steep learning curve over the two years to qualify for organic status, Richard told a recent BC Agrologists field trip to Bite Me Organics farm in southeast Kelowna. Still, he sees a lot of advantages to being an organic farmer.
“I never really liked the chemicals I used in conventional production,” Richard says. “I still spray, but it’s with organic materials, which are much more benign.” He thinks it is much better for the environment.
“I notice we have a lot more birds around than we used to, particularly raptors.” He has been working to re-introduce American Kestrels to control the starlings that prey on soft fruit.
The economics are much better for both retail and wholesale sales, Richard explains.
“The organic market is still very undersupplied.” Bite Me Organics sells to organic retailers in Kelowna, Choices and Natures Fare, and supplies a local organic delivery service.
They make about 10 visits each summer to the Kelowna Farmers Market.
“It’s a long day,” says Robyn. “But it is lucrative. And it draws customers up to the barn for direct sales that are often larger orders.”
Families will come out and bring their children. “We can get 100 people here on a Saturday,” says Robyn. Visitors may also cut flowers from the house garden.
“We have three distinct groups on our 350 member email list,” says Robyn. “We have the young professionals who can afford it and want their children to eat
organically, we have folks who have cancer and we have Europeans.”
Richard says there are also
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downsides to growing organically.
“One of the problems is that during the two years for certification, you must use organic methods, but you cannot sell for the organic premium to recoup the extra costs.”
And there’s more record keeping.
“I’ve started a computer diary to record at the end of the day.”
“A major problem is the alternate bearing years that occur in the apple orchard,” Richard says. There aren’t adequate materials for chemical thinning and it’s just not practical to do it by hand, he explains.
“So our production can really vary from year to year.” But this summer was an excellent year for soft fruit, he says.
“We couldn’t keep up with the picking. We got over 30,000 pounds of peaches from our acre and a half and 1200 pounds from our 25 young nectarine trees.” They grow Ambrosia, Pink Lady, Fuji, Jonagold, Aurora, Golden Gala and Honeycrisp apples on 10 acres. About one third is sold direct and to local retail while two thirds is
Bite Me Organics’ Richard King shows off a box of organically-grown peaches to a group of agrologists who toured his orchard earlier this summer. Although it requires extra work, King says the personal satisfaction and financial premiums make it all worthwhile. (Tom Walker photo)
shipped to Cawston Cold Storage, an organic packer in the Similkameen Valley about two hours away.
“We grow some Sunrise for early local sales and I find that we are picking about a week ahead of our neighbours,” he explains. “The local market wants firm, crisp and flavorful apples, but they aren’t as concerned about colour.” Fujis that are headed to China, on the other hand, are left to color up and even have “extenday” plastic ground covers beneath the trees to reflect back the sunlight and ripen the fruit more evenly. “Honeycrisp are the hardest
apples to grow,” Richard says. They are not strong trees, they have thin skin and are susceptible to bitter pit. “You don’t always see it on the fruit when you pick it, but it shows up later when they’ve been in cold storage.” Still, they are hugely popular and give the best returns for the grower.
Richard has five California varieties of peaches such as Oh Henry and Miranda and, so far, they have been winter hardy.
“I’m betting on climate change,” he jokes.
“The SIR program is very effective for codling moths,”
says Richard. He finds organic sprays are good for leaf roller and mating disruption works for root borer, but he still has to go through with a coat hanger and dig out the grubs. He tried chicken manure for fertilizer, “but its not very popular with your family or your neighbours,” and it burned a number of trees that have not recovered. He likes the pelletized feather meal he is using now.
And the name?
“It was one of those crazy ideas that came out of sitting around with friends and a glass of wine,” recalls Robyn. “People remember it.”
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