Delicious Peaches and More at Hill Orchard

As I discussed in , pesticides are prevalent in our produce.  Some more than others.  One way to reduce this harmful exposure is to buy organic.  Another way is to buy local.  How does buying local reduce pesticide exposure you might ask.  While local farms may not be certified organic, most use much gentler methods of pest control. 

Hill Orchard, located on Hunt Road in Westford, is one such local farm.  Owned by the Westford Conservation Commission and operated by Monadnock Berries, they have plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, apples, local honey, maple syrup, jams and more.

They are not certified organic.  They use a method called integrated pest management (IPM).  What is IPM?  According to the Massachusetts IPM Council:  

“IPM is a systematic strategy for managing pests which considers prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression. Where chemical pesticides are necessary, a preference is given to materials and methods which maximize public safety and reduce environmental risk. “

Unfortunately there is no IPM certification or label.  So in order to know how your food was grown, you need to ask the grower.  Yet another reason to shop farmers market, like the Westford Farmers Market, or one of the many local farm stands.  You can ask!

I had a very informative conversation with managers Cliff and Kathie Warme.  “Red globes”, like the one shown above, are attached to the trees throughout the orchard.  Once per week, their IPM expert uses these to determine which insects are present.  There is no broad spraying.  Cliff explains, “We only use what our IPM person tells us.  We only spray what he tells us we need.”   Once the fruit blooms, they use very little pesticides.  

They are very careful in their choice of pest control.  To combat molds and fungus, they use a product derived from mushrooms.    To take care of borer worms, Cliff and Kathie explained that they only spray the base of the trees.  They know that what is on the tree bark and in the soil can make its way into the fruit.  For this reason, sprays are used after the harvest in the fall.  They want to minimize pesticide exposure while still protecting the trees.  

Cliff brought an important point to my attention.  Organic produce growers are allowed to use heavy metals such as copper sulfate, sulfur and aluminum sulfate.    Does your organic produce use these?  Are they harmful?  By buying locally, you can ask and decide for yourself.  Cliff assured me that they do NOT use any of these products on their produce.

As we walked through the orchard, Cliff explained IPM, the effects of the droughts, and hurricane Irene.  How much he truly cared about the orchard and producing good quality fruits was very evident.  It was very reassuring to me.

You can pick your own fruit or visit the Hill Orchard Farm Stand, open Wednesday through Sunday 10am – 5pm.  They can also be found at the Westford Farmers Market on Tuesdays.