FRUIT ACRES FARMS

2559 FRIDAY ROAD COLOMA MICHIGAN 49038

FARM PHONE: (269) 468-5076

HOME PHONE: (269) 468-8046

FAX: (269) 468-3468

Directions:I-94 Exit 39 turn (left) south on Friday Road to 2nd crossroad (Carmody).Farm is on Northeast Corner. Fruit Acres is on front sign in yard.

• More information on Fruit Acres Farms Cherries.
• Harvest season is approximately July 1-20.
• Hand picked at the peak of ripeness for superior flavor and storage
• We pick without stems for longer storage for the buyer
• We sell graded or ungraded Cherries in bulk amounts in the buyers containers OR
• We normally have ready to sell, 20 pound cardboard boxes of Graded Black Sweet Cherries on hand in the cooler.
• Fruit Acres Farms is the largest grower of Black Sweet Cherries in Southwest Michigan in acres grown, and number of different varieties.

• A List of varieties we grow is on the Peaches page
• Peaches are Fruit Acres Farms Specialty! Over 80 acres grown.
• Harvest season approximately July 20-September 30
• Peaches are hand picked at firm-ripe maturity.
  • Firm Flesh for shipping or delivering and excellent storage in cooler.
  • Fruit will soften and get juicy after just a few days out of refrigeration.
• Red Skin color of most varieties is 60-90% for customer appeal.
• Flesh is firm, sweet, juicy (when softened) and full of flavor.
• Completely Freestone after Red Haven (pit comes off flesh) Some Peach Varieties before Red Haven are semi-freestone, they come off the pit when ripe most years depending on weather conditions

Yellow and White flesh Peaches are sold:

1. Field Run (straight off the tree) Price is cheaper
2. Graded- Washed and fuzz taken off, Sized any size range you want
   1. Packed in Open Half Bushels baskets
   2. Field Bushel Crates (deposit required and refunded)
   3. 25 pound Cardboard Boxes

EXTRA SWEET JUICY WHITE FLESH PEACHES

• Harvest season approximately August 20-September 10
• The variety we grow are different, and we think far superior, to the sub-acid white peaches you may have tried like White Lady. Blushingstar is nothing like the old soft white varieties except for the flavor and aroma
• Blushingstar is the variety
  • Flavor is very sweet and full of flavor
  • Flesh is firm for long storage and trucking in refrigeration
  • Skin color is 80% pink to dark red
• Very attractive with a strong aroma
• Great for canning or fresh eating
• Blushingstar is an easy peach to sell if you give samples. The customers always return next time for more. We are asked from June on when those great white peaches are going to be ready.

• Harvest Season: Mid-July - November 1
• Sales out of storage until December 15
• Fruit Acres Farms is a small apple grower (only 20 acres total) so we can only sell limited quantities. We cannot fill semi loads, but we can refer lots of growers who can supply all your apple needs.
• Apples are sold:
  1. Field Run Straight off the tree, cheaper price
  2. Hand Graded - sized to take out small fruit but not sized consistently throughout pack
     1. Hand polished or non polished
  3. Sold and Packaged in:
     1. Open Half Bushel Baskets
     2. Bushel Field Crates (deposited required and returned)
     3. Bushel Cardboard Cartons
     4. 10 or 18 bushel Bulk Boxes (deposit required and rerun

• Harvest Season: July 15 - October 1
• All Bicolor (Peaches and Cream type)
• Picked and Sold Fresh
• Sold in:
  • Open Bushel Baskets
  • 10 or 18 Bushel Bulk Boxes (deposit required and returned)

• We use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which means we only spray for insects according to their life cycle and if they have been spotted yet by scouting orchards every few days.
• We use pheromones when possible to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of chemicals for certain insects such as Oriental Fruit Moth, Codling Moth and Peach tree Borer.
• We participate in studies with Michigan State University for peach and apple to reduce chemical use as low as possible depending on the weather conditions that particular year.
• Michigan unfortunately has too much natural insect pressure to farm organically on a commercial scale. The western states with their dry desert weather conditions are better suited for that possibility. If we could save a lot of money and time by not spraying we definitely would.
• Our Peach trees are not genetically altered fruit trees. The new Stellar peach varieties are hand cross-pollinated on a mother tree to get the new varieties the same way breeders have been doing it for hundreds of years. There is no genetic manipulation in a laboratory.