Both Italy and France have red fleshed peaches! You might want to visit!
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I cannot buy any fruit in the supermarket any longer. Thats pretty snobby!
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Actually Alan, organic apple juice is no safer than conventional.
This article put out about the same time as the one Clark posted indicated organic apple juice is also contaminated.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/01/arsenic-in-your-juice/index.htm
My understanding is the arsenic can move through plant tissues but lead pretty much canāt. As you know, lead is too heavy for most plants to pick up, so the contamination is from soil splashing on the fruit (or in the case of apple contamination probably results from someone picking up drops for use in juice). The problem is arsenic can substitute for phosphorous in acidic soils.
Iām not sure if arsenic can concentrate in apples, but I suspect it could if soil concentrations were high enough. But my guess is one would likely see some pretty significant problems with the trees by then.
I think the article didnāt emphasize enough that most of the apple juice sold in the U.S. comes from China, where apparently they are still allowed to use arsenate sprays, which would go a long way in explaining arsenate residues. The figures Iāve heard are 70% of the apple juice concentrate comes from China.
This is a relatively recent phenomenon, so itās likely the juice your son consumed was from the U.S. which would probably be a little safer in my mind, since American farmers are not continuing to spray lead arsenate on the fruit.
As far as plants picking up chemicals through the roots. I havenāt read that it happens much other than in cases of arsenate, or neonics.
People still use arsenates on their lawns to control crab grass in the U.S. which probably still contributes to arsenate in ground water. Really chaps my arse. 
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I still donāt take from what youāve written how organic apple juice would contain lead and arsenic, since those apples presumably come from Washington in orchards established after lead-arsenate was prohibited. I donāt even think organic apple concentrate comes from China today, but thatās a guess. Maybe I will google it. I assume an orchard could be certified organic years after the use of lead-arsenate had been used and still produce contaminated apples.
Hey, lead arsenate would be an approved organic pesticide if it wasnāt so damaging to health and environment. Itās all natural! Iāll stop.
I just came back from a search empty. It seems that disclosure of the country of origin may not be required, although it is sometimes listed, but Iām not sure.
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Alan,
Hereās where the article talks about organic apple juice.
" Even with a ban on lead-arsenate insecticides, āwe are finding problems with some Washington state apples, not because of irresponsible farming practices now but because lead-arsenate pesticides that were used here decades ago remain in the soil,ā says Denise Wilson, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Washington who has tested apple juices and discovered elevated arsenic levels even in brands labeled organic."
BTW, the paragraph just mentions arsenic in organic apple juice, not lead. I just noticed that.
Youāre right about China not producing organic apple juice. I missed that in my previous post. So in that sense buying organic apple juice would probably insure it was produced in America.
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Systemic insecticides move up from the roots, so I would imagine some chemicals could, too. We had a new drainfield put in about eight years back. I planted blueberries over it, as they have shallow roots, so wonāt clog the drainage. Blueberries are supposedly sensitive to chlorine, so I wondered if the auto dish detergent in the drain water would affect them, but so far things are fine. I have them heavily mulched with wood chips, but our soil is extremely sandy, plus it is on a hillside, so the mulch hasnāt had any negative effect on the drainage. But yes, roots can wreak havoc with septic lines, as we experienced frequently at my dadās place in California and at our previous home in Wisconsin.
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Some trees such as willows have an extensive root system but most fruit trees do not have that type of root system.
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Lombardy poplars are banned in some areas because of their invasive roots.
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oops pears
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As i find myself looking at the types of pears i grow my concern is i may be snobbing my way into a pear snobbery corner where fireblight is waiting in a dark alley. I grafted ledbetter today with confidence and satisfaction as i thought about fireblight trying to infiltrate the famous pears branches but then i found i was thinking of eating a red comice.
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I had what I suspected was an light hit on my ts hardy this week, it was just leaf edges and tips but I removed them any way
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I think that was just freeze damage it hit some of mine as well.
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Youāre probably correct, it didnāt look quite right but I took it off any way. Iām paranoid, I have never seen a bad strike in my yard but there is an old pear tree a mile from here that have seen strikes all over
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Iāve been thinking of either grafting over or removing an ohxf 333 Bosc pear. I have two of them, this will be there first year of flowers, been in ground four years. I donāt need two of them as I have a Bosc ohxf 97 too. Soo graft or remove to put in a pear on ohxf 87? Yes I guess I am a pear snob as well.
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@clarkinks Iāve heard pears are smaller on 333 so I was going to pull it as I Was going to order it on 87 from Raintree on Monday. But I could plant it somewhere else when my wife isnāt looking and graft superfin onto it. I sure hope there not to small on it. Have you had fruit from 333 yet?
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Yes and so far it has been smaller.
@clarkinks care to guess by how much? For example say 87 makes a three inch wide pear would it be 2 inch on 333? Or are we talking maybe 10%?
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I cant say for sure but i would say at least 10%. Im guessing that will correct itself with enough roots and enough water.
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@clarkinks I can live with 10 - 20 % anymore than that and Iād probably will pull 2 of the four 333 and get something else. Still gonna put in a 87 Seckel this year and call it good. I have two pears come up in my small orchard right where my grandfathers old Bartlett pear orchard was. There 4-5 ft tall now and still thorny waiting to see what comes of those. Oh and thanks for replying.
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