We grow over 20 different kinds of peaches and nectarines. We planted the first 333 trees in 1989 and have been adding to the orchard ever since.
Paradise Orchards (see location on map) is run by my wife Nancy and myself(Levin VanSant). The children help, the only outside help we use is a crew of about 14 workers to "thin" the trees each spring. Basically that means going over all 2000 trees and pulling off peaches so there's only one peach every 7-8 inches over the whole tree. This ensures that the fruit left on the trees get more nutrients and ripen to a good size.
Our orchard is about ten acres in size. It's small enough that the family can give personal attention to the trees. We hand pick every peach at the height of ripeness. Our peaches are irrigated all summer, so they're bigger, sweeter, and juicer than anything you can buy in a market.
The best indicator that a peach is ripe is the ground or background color. It should be yellowish or creamy in color. The blush or reddish color has to do with the variety of the peach and not its ripeness. A green ground color suggests that the peach was picked immature and it will not ripen. A ripe fruit will smell like a peach. Our peaches are all tree-ripened and hand-picked LARGE fruit. Normally, it takes about three to four medium peaches to weigh a pound; our LARGE, juicy peaches weigh almost a pound each!
Come visit our stand on Route 13 south of the Felton, DE traffic light between July 1 and September 10th each summer.
Subject: Thanks
From: Maggie
Date:Wed, 17 Aug 2005
To: peachesandpups@aol.com
My husband and I stopped at your produce stand Monday evening and were so delighted with your peaches. You were also kind enough to give us an extra bag because you said we were the last customers of the day. Actually, we believe it was because you and your wife are extremely kind people!
When we returned to the Holiday Inn in Harrington, we gave a peach to the lady at the front desk, and she mentioned that she and her family always buy their peaches from you because they are the best around. When we sampled them for our supper, we found out she was right. Thanks so much for caring about the quality of your fruit.
Best regards,
Maggie and Gene (last name omitted for privacy)
Our peach stand is open on Route 13 south of the Felton, DE traffic light between July 1 and September 10th each summer.
The peach crop this year looks great. We also have started growing strawberries (hydroponic). These berries will be available by the end of June until October. We'll be posting more about our strawberries.
 Click to see a larger picture | Cynthia and Harvey Allison made this handsome gift by hand for the Van Sant family. Cynthia did the drawing and Harvey made this wall hanging out of iron with only two welds to add the peaches. The Allison's email is Cfallison@aol.com |