Peaches n’ Cream
Freshly picked strawberries, peaches, blackberries, and blueberries.
Vendor Story
Calvin & Tracie Phillips
A generation of Davidsonians have long cherished Phillips Farms’ Peaches n’ Cream stand on U.S. 74 in Wadesboro as a welcome stop for fresh produce, homemade ice cream and homemade peach cobbler.
Since 2011, Peaches n’ Cream has been sending truckloads of fresh peaches and strawberries back up the road to the Davidson Farmer’s Market.
Phillips Farms is on 1,200 acres some 20 minutes away from the well-known stand. Fourth-generation family farmer Calvin Phillips says the farm transformed former cotton acreage into peach orchard in 2000. They harvested their first peach four years later.
“You can’t just do what your daddy and granddaddy did,” says Calvin. “You’ve got to change it up sometimes. Our fruits grow well in sandy loam soil. When the weather cooperates, we have a great product. It’s a lot of work and challenges, but we get it done.”
Hard on the heels of the peach orchard came strawberries and other fruits. They have even added a new, fall-harvest variety of strawberry.
Along the way, the Phillipses—wife Tracie and son Charlie (“the tall one” who often heads up the Davidson Farmers Market stand)—have learned a lot about farm labor and retail labor, about late frosts and about keeping Ford V-10 motors happy. That’s what powers the 30-foot wind machines that can raise the temperature four degrees and blow the frost off of 10 acres of critically delicate peach blossoms, a season’s income in the balance.
To offer a variety of produce at their Wadesboro stand, Phillips partners with other local farms. But to sell the quantities of peaches and strawberries that soon were coming off of Phillips Farms, they needed to find a weekly market with strong, consistent demand.
“Davidson’s the one that really works for us,” says Calvin. “It’s really been a game-changer. They just have the farmers there: You farm it, you grow it, you sell it. And it’s good people and well-managed. Courtney brings it to the pavement! The volume that can be sold in a short window amazes me. Davidson customers are loyal and appreciate farmers’ efforts.”
