Vendor Profile: Collette Fruit Company

By: Beth Thiret, Master Gardener

Ask anyone who’s made the drive, and they’ll most likely tell you the trip from Palisade, on the western slope of Colorado, to Fort Collins isn’t a short one. So why would Dan Collette, of Collette Fruit Company, be willing to do this trip every Friday for three months out of the year?

“It’s a hobby out of control,” Collette says of his interest in growing cherries, apricots, plums and peaches. In 2004 the CSU alumnus bought his first orchard and four years ago offered to lease a neighbor’s trees, which he jokingly refers to as a “fruit cocktail” orchard with a mixture of cherry, peach, plum and apricot trees.

While he’s kept his day job in the oil and gas industry, Collette says his biggest challenge is trying to keep up with all the demands of the orchard. From growing to harvesting and selling, he has to make the most of his time and often finds himself picking fruit in the evenings. “It’s me or the birds or raccoons”, he explains. Fortunately, Collette beats out the local wildlife in the race to ripe fruit, and with the help of his daughter (home for a few more weeks before returning to Baylor University) and friends in Fort Collins and Greeley, he continues to enjoy the social environment of the farmers' market.

If you’re looking for some ideas on what to do with the fruit of Collette’s labors (pun intended), Collette says he enjoys it in a variety of ways. He’s got a friend who makes cherry wine for him, prefers to eat the apricots fresh or in jams, and then there’s the ageless favorite--peach cobbler.
Hurry in now while the peaches are at their prime. While you’re at it, ask if he’s got any peach wood chips available. They add a gentle smoky flavor to grilled chicken. You’ll find the Collette Fruit Company stand on the west side of the farmers' market backing Howes Street every Saturday through September.