Meet Jim and Sandee Freese
Welcome to Grandpa’s Homeplace
Grandpa’s Homeplace (also know as J&B Orchards) is located on the Omak Flats in a sun drenched environment where apples, cherries, and pears thrive. Jim’s family has been on the land for three generations and he takes great care to preserve this wonderful family legacy. The view from Jim and Sandee’s orchard takes in the Okanogan River Valley and surrounding mountain scenery, a land of fruit trees, Ponderosa Pine and sage brush crowned by miles and miles of blue sky.
Products Available
Pears, cherries, and Apples.
"Old Fashioned Flavor you can Trust."
Growing Philosophy
“My family has lived in this house and grown fruit here since 1910. We are dedicated to taking care of this land that has provided for our family for three generations.”
-- Jim Freese
Low-impact Methods for Soil Fertility and Pest Management
Jim has migrated to using integrated pest management and organically approved methods when natural predation is insufficient. He is looking to move one block of pears into organic certification within the next two years. Pruned matter is shredded and left to decompose back into the soil, enhancing organic matter. The orchard also has a year-round cover crop of grass.
Wildlife Corridors
Grandpa’s Homeplace is bordered by ravines to the south and to the east. Both of these ravines are left undisturbed and act as migration corridors for Mule Deer, bobcat, coyotes, and upland game. Having this wildlife activity adjacent to their home and orchard adds greatly to Jim and Sandee’s quality of life.
Innovative Housing for Workers
Jim and Sandee partnered with the Washington Housing Trust Fund and Iron Straw, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable housing, to lease their land adjacent to the orchard in order to build permanent, affordable housing for farm workers who wanted to settle down in Omak. This housing, made from straw bale construction and solar energy, is the first "green construction" built on a farmer's land.
