From The Orchard
- Well, we finished peach season late this year but still had enough time to have a vacation at the beach with our children. There’s just no better place for children young and old . Our sweet Adeline (age1)learned to walk on the beach, a great place to fall 48 times before mastering the act of walking. She had watched our funny Jimbo(age2) walk long enough before deciding she had to catch up. Grandchildren are so wonderful!
Al & I married on the opening day of Dove Season.I didn’t even know such a thing as dove season exisited. I have such fond memories of being around the farm as they were getting ready for the pecan harvest. Fall has always been my favorite time of year as the air begins to feel crisp and leaves begin to change color. Pecan Season doesn’t carry near the stress that we feel in Peach season simply because of the number of workers we need for the harvest and the perishablity of the peach versus the pecan. The weather is also absolutely perfect in Georgia in the Fall which makes it fun to be outside. The farm was featured in Farm & Ranch magazine this month. It is an unique article composed as a dairy of the day to day work on the farm by the Al,the farmer.
We are busy preparing for another Christmas season at our mailorder shop. We must try to predict the number of pecans ,cakes & pies we will need to bake,bag,label and ship. All of this entails ordering gift tins,boxes,wrapping, ribbons, baskets,etc . Once we make these decisions we can begin cooking and stocking our shelves and freezers. This is when we begin to act like Santa’s Elves. I have been doing this for 12 years and every year it gets better and better. It is just plain fun to give gifts and that’s what we do the best. As we begin to harvest our new crop I will update you on the happenings in the pecan orchard. you can tell ,
In case you couldn’t tell,I’m proud to be the farmer’s wife.
- 36 Years Together
From the Orchard
Our peaches hanging from the trees are a beautiful sight to see. .There are few fruits as pretty as peaches . It’s even hard for most artists to capture the true colors in a painting. Each peach and peach variety are so different ,so delicious and so good for you!
We haven’t had a good peach season in 2 years ,loosing peaches due to cold temperatures, 2 years in a row. We’re having to get used to running at full speed again. It’s a good problem to have. We have made great improvements to our retail at the packing shed so if you’re in the area do stop by and visit us. We serve the Best Georgia Peach ice cream in the world. Come by and try it for yourself. I promise you won’t be disapointed!
Sweet Georgia Peaches
From The Orchard
We are now experiencing some good cold weather which is great for a good peach crop. We need hours for a peach crop to set and make peaches The average date for peaches to be in full bloom is March 15th. It is quite a sight to behold especially in one of our larger orchards that had several different peach varieties and you can see the different colors of pink in a graduated sequence. It’s hard to take a picture you can appreciate like being here in person to see it.
We are expecting our 3rd grandchild this week and will be off to assist in caring for the family for a couple of weeks. We wish we had all of our family close by but will travel however far to be a part of our grandchildren and children’s lives.
From The Orchard
Thanksgiving Day--Kissing Cousins
Can you believe it’s already December? I can’t! We have been busy harvesting this year’s crop of pecans with most of our crop of nuts having been picked up, cleaned, dried and sold. We don’t have a shelling plant, so our in-shell pecans are sold from the farm after being cleaned. We are experiencing another great year for our wonderful pecans and the quality is also very good, even better than last year. God has showered his blessings on us again this year–that is for sure! Praise God from whom all blessings flow…
- Georgia Public Broadcasting www.gptv.com came to the farm in November and taped a show called Cultivating Life which will aired in the Fall of 2009–an early morning with lot’s of hustle and bustle. Sharing our families’ harvest in this manner can be very rewarding and lot’s of fun as we get an opportunity to really help me understand just what goes into running a family farm…passion, integrity and perseverence!
- That same weekend, we participated in a local show in Perry, GA called Mistletoe Market the weekend before Thanksgiving. Lots of work. Lots of Fun. Go to www.13wmaz.com and view the pictures from the market…Our Old-Fashioned Christmas Shoppe is actually the first picture posted. Once in the website, simply search for Mistletoe Market and the newest gallery of pictures should upload for your enjoyment.
- And, of course, we spent time with our family over the Thanksgiving Season. Wouldn’t you know that we are expecting 2 more grandchildren in February and July of 2009. These are the days of our lives…
All of us here at Pearson Farm are busy like Santa’s elves creating beautiful gifts, delicious cakes & pies, gift stacks and stacks of gift tins for all of our customers.
- One of the best things that happened just this week is that we were featured in the food section of the New York Times as a great place to order pecans & gifts under $50. Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/dining/03gift.html?_r=2&ref=dining to view the article in it’s entirety. Because of this one article, we have been blessed with orders from all over the United States and Canada. This is the third or fourth time an article about Pearson Farm has been published in the New York Times, and I am always amazed at the number of people that read this newspaper from New York to California and everthing in between, below and above. What fun it is to make friends over the phone with such great people and to think they all love Georgia pecans!
- Just yesterday on December 9, we were delightfully visited by our
dear friend Virginia Willis as she was in town
- Chef Virgina Willis with Al, Lanier and Mary
for a cooking demonstration at The Peach Palette in Fort Valley.
Proud to be a farmers wife,
Mary
From the Orchard
We began shaking our first pecan trees today. The Elliot is always the first pecan variety to crack so naturally the first to harvest. We don’t have a very big crop of Elliots which is no surprise as we had a very large crop of Elliots last year. Pecan trees have a tendency to produce every other year. The Elliot is still my favorite pecan, so I continue to use it for the pecans we toast and bake in the kitchen.
We are working hard to get Pearson Farm retail ready to open in November and organizing the Fullfillment Room for our Holiday Season. Work is always more productive and fun with lots of preparation!
As we ride in the orchards this month, you see many broken branches due to a heavy crop of pecans in some varieties. It’s not a pretty sight except from the eyes of the farmer who knows that a heavy laden tree with some broken branches means more pecans. The Desirable variety of pecan trees are heavy with pecans this year. They also have a weaker wood and therefore break easier.
We had an article in Farm & Ranch magazine this month. Check it out at www.farmandranchliving.com Al had to keep a diary for one month and email it every week. It was easier said than done, but as usual, he did the job and did it well. (more…)
FROM THE ORCHARD
We are kicking off my blog with a bang, appropriate for the 4th, don’t you think? This has been a roller coaster of a summer here at the farm. From a late freeze to stink bugs, to good crop, bad crop, good crop again…you must know that by a good crop we mean number of peaches we will pack and ship. It has little to do with with the quality which is always good as we can’t ship small or poor quality fruit. These hidden gems are my personal favorite and called the “White Lady”. It is a super sweet white “meat” peach. We only have a few of this kind of peach tree so we ship only on special request. It is ripe for picking for only two weeks, last week in June and first week in July.
Early in the season we decided not to open our retail store here at our fullfillment center and kitchen, and instead open our retail market out at the farm, combining Southern hospitality tin an old-time atmosphere where homemade peach ice cream, our famous jams, jellies, and salsa allow visitors to view peach packing and pick-out their own box of peaches while they sit back and enjoy a cup of ice cream made with our very own peaches, All in one trip!
Fresh off the presses comes an article from our friend and Chef Virginia Willis where we {Pearson Farm} are highlighted in an article in Eating Well Magazine. Check it out by going to www.eatingwell.com. Search the site for peaches and you will discover a link that will take you to the article as well as tantalizing recipes that will kick your summer off in style. Later this month, I will be cooking with a renowned Southern foodie, Savannah’s own Damon Fowler, as we create mouth-watering peach inspired recipes. As I hope you can tell, I am having a lot of fun! oh, and please don’t forget that I am also a grandmother, so I am also enjoying our little ones whenever I can get my hands on them.
Last but not least, as you can tell, we have launched a new look. We hope you like it! One of the things I have learned about internet sales is that you have to continuously keep yourself fresh. The company that we have hired is doing a brilliant job so that our customers are able to shop and tour the farm easily. So, be on the look out…
In case you couldn’t tell I’m proud to be the farmer’s wife,
Mary
