Co-worker Q+A: Local Stone Fruit with Brian Keogh

Of all the glorious bounty that summer provides, local organic stone fruit is widely celebrated as some of the best eating the season offers! The enthusiasm of our own Brian Keogh, an OGC Buyer with over 25 years in produce under his belt, is hard to match. To put it simply, the man’s passionate about stone fruit! We hopped on a call with Brian to get his take on what to expect starting now, and what to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Q: We’ve been sourcing from partners in California for early season stone fruit, and are now transitioning into local! What’s available to purchase right now?

A: Yes! Local is here, and it’s looking to be a fantastic season! Rich Lady peaches, a great early variety, are in house right now with Sierra Rich landing next week. Sierra Rich are arguably the best peach the Northwest region produces and those will be holding strong for a few weeks.

Spring Bright nectarines are here now, as well, followed by Red Bright and Ruby Bright nectarines next week.

Look for a few varieties of tasty local Pluots and Plums starting in August!

It’s a strong start to the local season, and it’ll keep getting better before we wrap up in mid-September!

Q: Are there any varieties that you personally look forward to eating?

A: I love Spring Bright nectarines. They’re a bit higher in acid so super tasty and balanced. I grab them as soon as they come in. But, I wait to get really excited until around the 1st of August when Grand Candy nectarines land. They’re just hands down the tastiest local nectarine you can get your hands on!

We’re bringing in a white nectarine soon, Arctic Jay. A very cool variety, as only a few Northwest growers offer them. They’re super high in both sugar and acid, so a really flavorful fruit, rivaling any yellow nectarine on the market, which I find pretty unusual from a white variety.

Speaking of white varietals, we’ll also have some Snow King white peaches this year that are very limited in the Northwest. These are big, big, big 30 series peaches that are very tasty. I’m looking forward to taking some of those home at the end of August.

Q: OGC sources from farms of all sizes, but we love the chance to highlight a smaller grower. Are there any small farms we’re sourcing from this season that are unique?

A: RP Guerrero Farm is a small outfit out of Quincy, WA. They’re almost entirely family run and do a vast majority of the picking and packing themselves. Their location in the far Eastern region of the state provides uniquely arid ground that’s beneficial for both pest control, but also produces delicious dry-farmed fruit! Their apricots are just wrapping up, but we’ll be bringing in their Red Haven and Rosa peaches, and their Santa Rosa plums, which are out of this world.

Another very cool family-run operation is Steve Moore Orchards, in Wilsonville, OR. For just two weeks at the end of August they produce Italian Prune plums that they harvest from 80 year old trees that his father planted. A very special, very limited product that I look forward to bringing in each year.

Q: Anything unique or challenging about this year’s growing season?

A: Let’s start with the challenges and end with the good news. Apricot production was way down this year, by nearly 50 percent. Late frosts really hit them hard and limited yield. Same story with pluots. However, last year’s season was hit even harder. So while we didn’t see the output everyone was hoping for, it’s an improvement over last year. We are looking forward to Amber Jewel pluots out of Chelan, WA. this season, which took a hard hit last year and were missed by all.

Overall, we’re seeing about 25 percent larger volumes of peaches and nectarines this year. This season welcomed more acreage that transitioned to organic and other trees that reached fifth-leaf, meaning they’re coming into full maturation. They’re pumping out a lot more fruit than in previous years, and that’s great news for all the stone fruit loyalists!

Thanks to Brian for the insider-info on this season’s stone fruit! Join us in supporting local organic farmers, and appreciating the years of work that goes into producing these amazing varieties of stone fruit.