Current Entry - January 9, 2013
April 15, 2012
With the help of the NRCS, Lee is putting in an irrigation system that will allow us to use micro sprinklers on all the vineyards, orchards, and garden. This project is designed to save salt from leaching into the river. Micro sprinklers are 85% efficient which saves a lot of water and is more sustainable due to less erosion of top soil.
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April 14, 2012
Ice peaches...a new variety. The micro sprinkers were on all night, and it got a little chilly.
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April 12, 2012
Devin and Michael are helping Lee plant baby peach trees. Harvest for these trees will be in July. You just can't have too many peach trees!
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April 10, 2012
These suncrest peaches are in full bloom. What a beautiful sight, and boy do they smell good!
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January 4, 2012
We have five new additions to our farm. Ryan brought the "three little pigs" all the way from Sterling, CO in a pig bin. (fruit bin)
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September 8, 2011
These are some of the best peaches in a long time. We had a bad spring frost which thinned the crop a lot and the peaches that made it are great. The tree puts all its energy into just a few peaches.
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September 8, 2011
After a long day of Upick, this little guy is enjoying one of our great tasting peaches. Oh boy, life is good!!!
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August 23, 2011
Can you believe it! We had an unexpected visitor in our orchards. This moose knows a good peach when she sees one. She would take a bite out of one and then move on to the next. She also decided to take a dip in our pond after harvesting the peaches, then she settled in for the evening among the peach trees. Quite the life! She has moved on, and hopefully won't be back, even though she was fun to see.
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August 1, 2011
Our good friend and fellow winemaker, Alfred Eames, wanted badly to take our hoopie for a spin, but only got to sit in it. However, later that evening we all jumped on, and took a trip around the farm with Lee behind the wheel. Not that we don't trust Eames!
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June 5, 2011
The 7th grade class of the Aspen Community School made their 2nd annual trip to our farm to help plant the garden. This year they planted beans and pumpkins. They also helped thin the chardonnay and riesling wine grapes. Great job kids!
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March 16, 2011
Ryan came home for spring break to help his Dad in the orchards. I think he likes the old fashion way of farming.
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March 13, 2011
This is our pruning crew stocking up with food and supplies. These quys work so hard, and we appreciate all that they do for us. They will begin pruning the peaches on Monday.
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January 24, 2011
This John Deere tractor is the latest addition to our farm. Lee has had a great time plowing the snow...he is hoping for more snow.
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August 19, 2010
Our 1969 Karmann Ghia took 2nd place in the classic car category at the Cherry Days Parade this year. It's a gem and so much fun to ride in. (I don't drive it!)
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May 13, 2010
These four rows are the future home of 250 new peach trees called Star Fire. They will be planted tomorrow.
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May 13, 2010
Bees are amazing. Somewhere in this swarm of bees is the Queen.
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April 15, 2010
The apricot blossoms are beautiful and they smell so good. This could be a great season for the fruit.
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April 10, 2010
Pictured here is one of the workers pruning the apricot trees. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a good crop. So far, so good.
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April 10, 2010
Farmer Lee is pushing brush from one of the cherry orchards. The trees were pruned heavily this spring, so they should produce some HUGE sweet and juicy cherries. Contact us for harvest times, and plan a trip for u-pcik.
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October 14, 2009
A local artist, Pennie Alexander, taught our first beginning gourd class at our farm. It was so much fun, and the gourds were transformed in to beautiful and creative pieces of art.
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April 3, 2009
The fruit buds are chattering and looking forward to warmer weather. We do have some frost damage to the cherries, but we will keep our fingers crossed for the tighter buds that haven't felt the cold. Our peaches, pears, apples, and wine grapes still look good. Hopefully the weather in April will be good to them. We will keep you posted.
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April 3, 2009
It’s winter in April. Our cherry trees look beautiful with the new snow stacked high on their sturdy branches, but they would prefer more seasonable temperatures. One thing is for sure, this weather will slow down the bud development for the other fruit trees and vines.
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April 27, 2008
Not what we expected. This block of cherries was hit hard by frost on the evening of April 24th. The cherry orchards in other locations on the farm will have plenty of sweet cherries, and it looks like a full crop of peaches, pears, and wine grapes.
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April 24, 2008
WOW! The orchard should be in full bloom this weekend. The bees are buzzing.
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April 21, 2008
At this stage of development, the orchard looks like it has popcorn hanging from the limbs.
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April 17, 2008
This cherry bud picture was taken on April 17, 2008. The buds are just beginning to swell.
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October 11, 2007
The stucco is on and the lights are in place. Thanks to Lee's brother, we have beautiful lights on the outside of our cellar. At this point, we think we will change the green tin to cedar. On the inside of the cellar, we still need sconces, and we are contemplating having a tasting room in the front of the cellar. This unique and hand crafted wine cellar will be quite a site to see when it is finished.
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June 27, 2007
We have a new addition to our family. Meet Farmer John. Farmer John is a life-size, animated character who loves to talk and give advice. We are having a lot of fun with him here at Orchard Valley Farms.
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June 26, 2007
Our garden looks great! This year we have several varieties of squash and peppers. We also have cantaloupe, okra, cucumbers, raspberries, and blackberries. And as you can see tomatoes. The organic garden should be ready for picking toward the end of July.
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May 31, 2007
Our wine cellar is almost finished. We plan on stuccoing the front to match our house, and Lee’s brother, who did the iron work, will make the sconces for the outside as well as the inside of the cellar. We finally have electricity, and its great to see a cellar full of oak and French barrels aging our 2006 Pinot Noir wine. Our future plans include barrel tastings, so we will keep you posted.
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June 25, 2006
Some of the customers that come to the tasting room at Orchard Valley Farms tasting room.
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June 17, 2006
Black Brigde Winery hosts the second annual Mountain Vineyard Wine Festival at the winery at Orchard Valley Farms in Paonia. It was great fun for everyone involved and funds were raised to help with the new Oncology clinic at the Hospital in Delta.
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June 16, 2006
Colorado’s growing wine industry adds $40 million to state’s economy
Published June 21, 2006
Colorado’s wine industry, based primarily on the Western Slope, contributed more than $40 million to the state’s economy during the 2005 growing season, according to a new study conducted by Colorado State University.
More than $21 million was generated from the production and sale of wine when considering all the economic activity associated with winemaking in an area, according to the report, which was funded by the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau.
Sales of wine produced in Colorado directly accounted for $11.8 million, and $1.3 million came from the sale of grapes grown in Colorado; employee wages, material and equipment purchases and tax revenue accounted for about $8 million. Add the economic impact of wine-related tourism and recreational enterprises such as tasting room visits, wine festivals, wine trains and educational programs, and the total economic contribution of the Colorado wine industry is $41.7 million.
Colorado’s wine production ranked 22nd in the nation and accounted for 3 percent of all sales nationwide, according to the study. Colorado produced 689,000 liters of wine — about 76,550 cases — during the 2005 growing season, a five-fold increase from 10 years ago. The average 750 milliliter bottle of Colorado wine sells for $12.86, according to the report.
“Wine has a tremendous positive effect on Colorado’s economy,” said Dawn Thilmany, a Colorado State University professor of agriculture and resource economics who led the study with George Kress, an emeritus professor from Colorado State University’s College of Business. “In addition to the direct economic impact of the sale of wine and grapes, the wine industry also boosts local economies through the dollars of visiting tourists who might otherwise not have visited or stayed as long in the region. Hotels are able to fill their rooms and restaurants fill their tables during historically slower seasons. It’s a ripple effect.”
Pat Sunderland/DCI
KAREN HELLECKSON pours a sample of an alpine dessert wine for a participant in the DCMH Foundation’s annual wine tour. Helleckson and her husband Brent operate Stone Cottage Cellars near Paonia, one of 13 wineries in the Delta-Olathe area.
“Wineries are generally in production in the spring and fall, known as the shoulder seasons for Colorado tourism,” Thilmany said. “Since wineries are attractive destinations during these seasons, this industry may help different areas to more fully utilize their existing tourism infrastructure. Even in high seasons, the wine industry can be used to justify a visitor to extend their visit a day or two.”
Consumption of wine in the United States is growing as the baby-boomer generation grows older and Colorado is outpacing the nation on wine consumption, Thilmany said. In 2004, Coloradans consumed an average of 3.66 gallons of wine per capita, almost 20 percent more than the national average of 3.06 gallons per capita. As of March 2005, there were 66 wineries operating in Colorado, the majority in Mesa County. Delta County and Olathe are home to 13 wineries according to the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board.
Since Colorado’s wine industry is a new engine for tourism, the state has the ability to increase the economic impact of wine production through developing tourism campaigns highlighting Colorado wines and its wine producing regions, Thilmany said. Many wine producing regions in the nation have also been able to cultivate a complementary, thriving art scene accompanied by boutique food-oriented businesses making and serving artisan foods such as micro-cheeseries, gourmet chocolatiers and small-batch sauces, preserves and mustards.
Overall, there is much optimism about the sustained growth in the number and quality of Colorado wines, and increasing evidence that it can be a catalyst for ot
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November 20, 2005
“Schaack Block”
The 2005 harvest is destined to be a year to remember when it comes to wine vintages. This image show some Pinot Noir grapes just before they were harvested. Black Bridge Winery crushed and fermented 17 barrels of this Pinot Noir. Grapes were also sold to Alfred Eames Cellars and S. Rhodes Vineyards.
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October 3, 2005
We always try to hire local people to help with harvesting the grapes. This year Les Page was one of the harvest hands. It is very important that only the best grapes are picked and the others are put on the ground. This image shows Les trying to determine if this bunch is good enough. Recently retired, Les was a fruit grower and farmed this very farm nearly 20 years earlier.
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April 24, 2005
The cherry trees are in full bloom and the orchards are turning white with bloom. Here us one of the millions of blossoms in the orchard. You can see the five petals, the anthers and the stamen and down inside is where the cherry will begin to form. In the background is the bark of an older portion of the tree. The pollen is transferred from one flower to another by insects and wind. Without these, there will be no cherry. You can U-Pick all of the cherries you want at our farm this summer.
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April 17, 2005
The cherry trees are nearing full bloom and they are as beautiful as you can imagine. So far, there has been no damage to the cherry buds due to frost although some of the growers in the lower valley have some damage. The temperature has been in the 80s for the last three days which is good to push all the buds to bloom and for the bees to do their pollinating.
This same warm weather has the North Fork of the Gunnison river rocking and rolling!! It is higher now than all of last year. It's a long ways from causing problems.
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March 29, 2005
This is an interesting time of the year in the fruit orchards in the North Fork Valley. The grass is turning green and the fruit trees are still dormant. The cherry buds continue to develop and each day they get closer to bloom. The flowers on cherry trees emerge shortly before the leaf buds, which makes the trees look like they are covered with popcorn at bloom time.
This is also he time of the year that the entire crop can be destroyed in just one night by frost (or freeze in some cases). At this stage of development, fruit buds can endure 25 degrees for a short time.
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March 21, 2005
Ryan and Camdon returning from a 4-weeeler ride to the orchard to check rodent damage to the trees. This time of the year it is critical to watch areas close to the river for fresh beaver cuttings. Also, mice are capable of doing large amounts damage to the base of young trees. They will eat the bark around the base of the tree and when the tree tries to come out in the spring, it is dead. One 8 year-old peach tree is worth between $300 to $500 each.
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February 26, 2005
After a long day of working in the orchard, one of the workers relaxes with some marshmallows and a large bon fire. It is the time of the year that high school boys come to work in the orchards and vineyards cleaning up the prunings on the orchard floor after the annual pruning has been done. This is the last day of February break and it's time to have some fun. Raking brush is not one of the most stimulating jobs, but many say that it builds character.
Paonia High School baseball starts Monday, so I probably won't see these boys in the orchard until school is out.
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February 15, 2005
The snow has melted and the grass is starting to get green. We're pruning peach trees at Orchard Valley Farms and will be pruning these central leader cherry trees soon. Again, this month is showing signs of having more precipitation and being warmer than normal. I topped off the barrels of wine in the celler just last week and at the same time tasted some of the Pinot Noir! I was not disappointed!!! We will be bottling this week and hope to have labels soon.
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January 20, 2005
Pictured: fresh snow on the cherry trees.
January is generally not too exciting on the farm and this year is no exception. We have had lots of good moisture coming in the form of rain and snow that has been soaking into the orchard and vineyard floor. We have not experienced extreme colds this winter and all the fruit buds look in good condition for the spring bloom. Sometimes it is kinda nice if Mother Nature will help us thin the peaches and apples in the form of spring frosts, but occasionally she gets out of hand and thins all the fruit!
The wine cellar construction is coming along nicely and soon we will be moving the 2004 wine to its new home in the Black Bridge Winery wine cave. We are pruning Bartlett pears now and will prune the peaches starting with the oldest trees first and working our way to the newly planted trees which should be done in April and May. Orders have been placed on 3000 pinot noir vines, 1000 sweet cherry trees and 950 peach trees to be delivered at the farm this spring and planted in selected locations soon after.
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