Grower profile: Sebastian Fiolo

Grower profile: Sebastian Fiolo S & C Fiolo

There are over 170 stonefruit growers in WA and they all have a story to tell. We recently got to chat with Sebastian Fiolo and how he started his orchard in Karragullen.

Q: Where is your farm and how long have you been orcharding there?

Our family own and operate fruit orchards in Karragullen. My parents migrated from Sicily and began farming fruit and vegetables in Karragullen in 1958 on our original 27 acre orchard. In the 1990s we purchased two more properties to extend our planting of stonefruit and to progress with modern plantings. In 2015, with our parents moving into retirement, myself and my brotherin-law Robert decided to take the challenge and purchase a larger orchard by acquiring an additional 30 acres where we chose to begin again from the bare dirt to plant an additional 20 acres of orchard incorporating the latest fruit varieties and modern orchard planting techniques, paving our way into the future of orcharding in Western Australia.

Q: What do you grow in your orchard?

Currently, we farm over 60 acres of orchard planted over four properties in Karragullen. Our fruit ranges from white and yellow flesh peaches and nectarines, plums, pluots, apricots, cherries, Astringent and Non Astringent persimmons nashi pears, apples, donut peaches and donut nectarines. Our orchard is open for farmgate sales Monday to Saturday for the general public, giving people the opportunity to purchase fresh fruit from the farm and to see how our fruit is grown on a larger scale.

Q: What is your favourite stonefruit you grow?

I find it hard to say which is my favourite stonefruit as I have great passion in growing all stonefruit, but if I have to single out one, it would be apricots. The reason for this is that the season is quite short only running for about 10 weeks from November to early January, so our customers get excited when the season begins. We have gone through may changes in the apricot market and with some of the new varieties we are currently trialling, it will take the apricot market to new heights giving consumers a taste experience they have never had before. Watch out for great things!

Q: How about your favourite stonefruit recipe?

Coming into summer, nothing is better on a weekend than great friends and great food. To accompany this, a perfect summer drink that showcases WA grown sweet juicy peaches is the Summer Peach Sangria. It's simple, refreshing and is a celebration of WA's fantastic stone fruit! It's definitely worth a try and you won't be disappointed:

www.buywesteatbest.org.au/recipes/ summer-peach-sangria Q: Are you interested in exploring export markets?

My personal opinion is that WA grows some of the best quality stonefruit that is as good or better than other major growing Countries around the world. I believe WA should explore new export markets and showcase the great produce we have to offer. With changes in stonefruit varieties and quality, I am confident we can create and move forward in strengthening our name and products on the world stage. Our business is always keen to explore new export opportunities as I think we should always try to broaden our markets, including overseas, especially to drive our business forward in the future.

Q: What would be your key message for consumers about WA stonefruit?

My message to all consumers is to support WA stonefruit one hundred percent. I stress that the WA stonefruit growers put in so much time and hard work to give the WA public a showcase of amazing fresh produce that is great quality and of exceptional taste. We strive as growers to give the WA public beautiful stonefruit with a taste experience that keeps them coming back for more.

As a grower, there is no greater satisfaction than positive feedback from our customers wanting more and more and that is what makes me strive to reach greater heights. Also remember BUY WEST EAT BEST! ●

MORE INFORMATION

For more information contact Shay via email shay.crouch@perthnrm.com or phone (08) 9374 3306.

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