The first thing you notice when you pull up to Riggs Family Orchard in Spiro, Oklahoma is the smell. The air smells like the best peach you’ve ever eaten and, if you’re lucky enough to visit this gem and go home with a peck or two of peaches, it will be the best peach you’ve ever eaten.
Jody Riggs and his wife, Shauna, a special education teacher with the Spiro school district, bought the place in 2000. Though an existing orchard at the time, Shelby, the Riggs’ oldest daughter, recalls the early days. “We had a tin roof and one table. If we didn’t have what a customer wanted, me, mom, or dad would have to load up and go pick what they needed.”
Since then, Riggs Family Orchard has grown to roughly 20 acres of fruit trees and berry bushes; it varies as they are always taking trees in and out, trying new things to meet the demands of their customers. Though they are known for their early, mid, and late peaches, Riggs also produces nectarines, plums, apricots, blackberries, and apples, keeping the family busy from June through Thanksgiving.
For the full write-up on Riggs Family Orchard, check out Seed & Sow: An Agricultural Lifestyle Magazine. Available now!