Peck Demonstration Fruit Tree Orchard

About the Program

Category: Planning (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Peck Demonstration Fruit Tree Orchard was started in 2012 as a public-private collaboration between Parks & Open Space, who provides the land and trees for the fruit orchard, CSU Extension, who provides technical expertise for growing fruit trees and distribute results to the public, and Mark Guttridge of Ollin Farms, the Agricultural tenant on the Peck Open Space Property, who cares for and maintains the trees, sells the fruit to customers, and gets feedback on the different varieties planted. The goal of the project is to determine which types of trees do well in Colorado’s climate of severe droughts, extreme fluctuating winter temperatures, late spring frosts and increasing temperatures, and then to share this information with the public. Approximately 275 trees were planted on the open space land, including various varieties of cherries, pears, plums, peaches, apples and hazelnuts. The trees were all planted on Earth Day 2012 as a community volunteer project; volunteers were excited to participate in a project that would provide useful information and increase local food production. The project is helping staff and land tenants learn which varieties do well and are most productive, while getting feedback from the consumer about which varieties taste the best. As the Peck Demonstration Fruit Tree Orchard continues to grow, so will the research that gathered.