For over 100 years the Peixoto family has been farming in the Pajaro Valley on the central coast of California. Dick Peixoto started his farming career in eighth grade by hiring neighborhood kids to pick tomatoes on his family farm so he could market them. From that early start his business has grown tremendously. In 1996 he recognized the advantages of organic farming and began transitioning to organic. In order for the ground to be certified organic it must not have any materials applied for three years that are not approved for organic use by the USDA. This means that you must either find ground that has been fallow for at least three years or you must grow crops organically for three years but the crops cannot be sold as organic until the ground is certified. We chose Q.A.I (Quality Assurance International) as our certifying agency. Each year we must undergo extensive audit/inspections, which cover all of our ranches & our cooler. The Inspector checks our records, ranches & facilities to make sure that we are in compliance with USDA organic standards & using only products that are approved for organic use by OMRI. The additional audits, record keeping and fallowing of ground all add to the cost of organic farming. Also most organic fertilizers are more costly than conventional because the supply and availability are much less. Lakeside Organic Gardens is committed to the communities and the state we farm in. While other shippers get produce from Mexico and South America in the winter we feel strongly about providing produce that is grown here in the United States. All our produce is grown with pride in California.
Products
Greens - Chard
These beautiful vibrant green leaves are a perfect addition to your smoothies. Swiss Chard also tastes delicious sauteed with vegetables. </br></br>Packed with essential nutrients, Chard is a great source of Vitamins A,C,E, and K. It also contains sodium and a good chunk of protein.
Greens - Bok Choy - Baby
A favourite in asian cooking, bok choy is an excellent green addition to any stir fry, salad mix, or as a substitute for spinach in any cooked green recipe. </br></br>Bok choy is very low in calories, carbohydrates, has no fat and supplies many vitamins and minerals, but it's especially high in vitamins C, A and K.
Greens - Lettuce - Leaf - Red
Gorgeous & fresh red leaf. Add some colour to your salads!
Greens - Lettuce - Romaine
Of all the lettuces, Romaine is by far the most nutrient packed. Tonnes of vitamins K, A, and C hidden in these crunchy leaves. Also lots of folate, carotenoids, and other minerals.
Fennel
This is one beautiful bulb of fennel. The root or bulb is great raw, roasted, or glazed. </br> </br> If you are lucky to get a bulb with the fronds make a wonderful tea. Be sure to use the whole plant! </br> </br> Like many of its fellow spices, fennel contains its own unique combination of phytonutrients including the flavonoids rutin, quercitin, and various kaempferol glycosides that give it strong antioxidant activity. In addition to its unusual phytonutrients, fennel bulb is an excellent source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is the body's primary water-soluble antioxidant, able to neutralize free radicals in all aqueous environments of the body.
Broccolini
Broccolini is a vegetable in its own right, a cross between broccoli and gai lon, or Chinese kale. Those tiny yellow flowers are a sign of the vegetable’s gai lon parentage — and the gai lon is what gives this vegetable its cool peppery flavor. <br>Though much more expensive than broccoli, the hybrid has little waste; the slim stems are so tender all the way down that their ends don't even need to be trimmed. In fact, it's a much more interesting and sweeter-tasting vegetable than broccoli crowns, the de-stemmed florets that are common in many markets today.</br></br> Broccolini is nutritionally very similar to broccoli and is considered a tremendous source of carotenoids and other anti-inflammatory nutrients that may help decrease the odds of cancer and cardiovascular disease. It's also an amazing source of vitamins A, C and K.
Cauliflower
An excellent alternative to broccoli, organic cauliflower has taste that is unparalleled. So good that you might not even need dip to enjoy it! </br> </br> Often steamed or boiled, try sauteeing cauliflower for a change. Adding cauliflower to a skillet helps retain the vegetables crispness, and holds in the flavour. Cauliflower is high in both fiber and vitamin C, with a half cup of florets providing nearly half of ones daily requirement for vitamin C. It also contains a fair amount of vitamin A, folate, calcium and potassium as well as selenium, which works with Vitamin C to boost the immune system.
