Lakeside Organic Gardens overcomes challenge of a rainy spring | Produce News
As the largest family-owned-and-operated solely organic vegetable grower-shipper in the country, Lakeside Organic Gardens produces a wide variety of commodities annually.
“A lot of companies do three to five items, but we do 45 different items and our place is to supply the whole retail market,” said Dick Peixoto, owner of the Watsonville, CA-based company. “Organics is so different than conventional because of pest problems, and it’s a lot tougher to have a consistent supply and we work really hard across the different soils, different climates and different water systems to have a year-round supply on all items.”
Having an organic link between California to the desert has been a key to the company’s success.
“Unlike conventional, where you can just spray on a regular basis, you really have to manage the day-to-day activity in the field as far as what the pest problems are and how you’re going to manage it all,” Peixoto said. “Everything takes a lot more management and going block by block.”
The buzz in organics of late concerns having a steady supply and an increase in packaged salads, where it’s more than just a few ingredients.
“I think now consumers are demanding a full line of produce so when they go into a store, they don’t need to go to Walmart to buy three items and then go to Whole Foods to buy another five,” Peixoto said. “They are going to go where they can get everything and that requires suppliers who can offer a full line on the shelves for one-stop shopping.”
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