WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Richard Peixoto started farming at age 17, before graduating from high school. That experience led him to eventually start Lakeside Organic Gardens, a one-of-a-kind operation in Santa Cruz County.

He founded Lakeside — now the largest family-owned solely organic vegetable grower-shipper in the U.S. — 23 years later. The farm has 2,000 acres in the Pajaro Valley, 1,200 acres in the Imperial Valley and 250 acres in Mexico.

“Organic farming was not always the goal. I always wanted to farm but in the mid-1990s conventional was not really financially viable,” he said. “So, I looked to the future, and organic was the answer. We set up our own company to grow, harvest, sell and ship throughout the U.S.”

The farms currently grow 45 vegetables — everything from artichokes to zucchini plus lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, cilantro, spinach, radishes, beets, chard, kale and fennel.

Different plants take up different nutrients from the soil, which makes crop rotation imperative. Peixoto rotates his crops, working with local organic berry growers to ensure the soil is never depleted.

Berries and vegetables also attract different diseases and insects, so rotations work well. Proper rotation breaks disease cycles.

A unique crop is artichokes. Growing them is basically trying to force a thistle to produce buds.

The hardest crop to grow is Brussels sprouts because of the pest pressure they get from aphids.

Pests are the big problem but Lakeside recreates natural habitat around the fields to attract beneficial insects as a means of controlling the bad ones.

Lakeside Organics’ produce is sold nationwide, in western Canada and to distributors and processors. The farm also delivers to grocery stores and restaurants.

No crops are left behind in the field after harvest. Peixoto says he tries to sell any inferior product to processors or companies such as Imperfect Produce or Misfits or to donate them to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Barring that, he works the “ugly” crop into the ground, and those nutrients are passed on to the next crop.

Peixoto sees employees as family.

“We hold an annual picnic for our employees and their families to say thank you for their hard work throughout the year,” he said on the Lakeside website. “We consistently stock an employee-only farmers market at our cooling facility. At the end of each day, all employees are welcome to take a fresh bag of premium Lakeside Organic vegetables home to their families.”

Like other California farmers, Peixoto faces many challenges.

“The biggest challenge is the government regulations that range from air pollution to water management or road vehicle restrictions, off-road pollution restrictions and water runoff laws,” he said.

“It’s hard to believe farmers have time to farm,” he said.

Jess Brown, executive director of the Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo County Farm Bureaus, says Peixoto is a leader in the agricultural community.

“He is an individual that takes all challenges and turns them into opportunities,” Brown said. “When his traditional way of farming had difficult challenges, he turned it into an operation that is one of the largest independently owned organic farms.”

Peixoto is also known for his appreciation of his employees,” Brown said. “He understands it’s a team that makes his business work.”

Peixoto sticks up for agriculture, Brown said. “He is not afraid to take a stand on the issues that he feels are unfair to the agricultural industry. To sum it all up, Dick Peixoto is a remarkable individual.”

Occupation: Grower-owner, Lakeside Organic Gardens

Hometown: Watsonville, Calif.

Family: Wife, Marisela; children Ashley, Amanda and Ricky; and grandkids Melia, Antonia, Raylene and Cristian.

Quote: “We farm the soil and the soil grows the crop.”