Claremont Ranch Organics is a 7.5 acre certified organic orchard on Highway 97 in Lake Country. Molly Thurston runs it.
Molly met Bob and Sharon McCoubrey in 2005 through a community garden group. Bob and Sharon were among the founders of BC's organic association, and their orchard had been certified organic for years. Molly farmed alongside them for a few years, then bought the orchard in 2011.
The orchard grows pears, apples, peaches, apricots, and plums. The apples include about 35 heritage varieties. Some of the pear trees are close to 100 years old and still bearing fruit.
Molly matches each crop to the soil. Pears grow in the heavy clay, and apples grow in the lighter, sandy loam. Grass grows between the rows as a cover crop, and the soil is full of earthworms. The orchard has been farmed organically for more than 30 years. It is certified through the North Okanagan Organic Association.
Harvest starts with apricots in July. Peaches, plums, summer apples, and Bartlett pears follow in August. The season ends in October with storage apples and Anjou pears.
