Le Verger Bio de Véronique is a family business based in Rivesaltes, right in the middle of the Roussillon (South of France). For 9 generations, our family have been cultivating vines and apricots, two crops historically cultivated in our region. In 2009, I started to convert our orchards to organic farming giving his actual name at our company. Nowadays every orchard and wines of the family are organic. 4 years ago, we decided to diversify our production and we chose pomegranate as a new crop. In the wild, pomegranate trees are omnipresent in the region’s landscapes. This crop doesn’t require much to grow : only water and sun to flourish. This choice of crop seems obvious considering the climate change. To produce beautiful pomegranates, our orchards need to be irrigated. In order to not waste water, we use a drip irrigation system. This way, our trees can be watered for a long time using low quantities of water. This system also allows us to fertilize the soil twice a week and feed the roots directly with low input of fertilizer. Still in order to preserve natural resources, the packing station is equipped with photovoltaic panels. Those produce 5 times more energy than used by the packing station. Being organic, it’s also about ecology & preserving energies ! The region’s climate is hot, dry and windy, which reduces the emergence of disease in orchards and so is ideal for Organic Farming. Pomegranate trees are tough and have few pests. On our farm, only two pests can damage our trees : caterpillars and aphids. Natural solutions are used to protect the orchard. To detect caterpillars, we need to look very carefully at trees during pruning. For aphids, in case of invasion, we can use black soap to reduce populations. Globally, windbreak hedges with birdhouses are installed around orchards to increase wildlife on the farm. Our goal is to have lots of different species of animal or insect in the orchard so they can regulate each other, and no one damages the fruits. In the same way, grass is only cut once a year : the week before the harvest. It’s more safe and comfortable for our team. During the rest of the year, grass is flattened to stop its growth but stays green and hosts wildlife. Besides family members, 15 people work daily in the orchard, harvesting, packaging, and shipping our fruits. Some of our team members have been working with us for decades. Our team harvests the ripe fruit the day before shipping. Fruit is carefully selected to guarantee freshness and optimal quality of our products. Our pomegranates have few inner walls and shrunk seeds so they are principally sold to fresh markets. But, damaged fruits can’t be sold on the fresh market so they’re transformed into juice. It allowed us to sell pomegranate all year and avoid waste. Fruits who are too damaged to make juice go back to the field to fertilize them.