Finca Ecojusto: Cultivating the Essence of Asturias
A Family Farm with Deep Roots
Our family farm is located in the idyllic valley of San Justo, in the municipality of Villaviciosa, Asturias. This is where our grandparents passionately dedicated themselves to dairy cow breeding and the cultivation of an award-winning orchard of dessert apples. Over time, our parents transformed these pastures into a vast plantation of cider apple trees of native varieties with the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Sidra de Asturias, as well as a smaller plantation of kiwis, both certified as organic by COPAE since 2004.
The Magic of Asturian Cider
Today, we continue this family tradition with great care. We take care of 1,500 hens that enjoy a lush and inexhaustible pasture under the shade of thousands of apple trees, which allows us to offer truly unique organic village eggs.
Finca Ecojusto is the largest organic apple plantation for Sidra de Asturias PDO. In our orchard, we only intervene with organic chicken manure produced on the farm, copper (ecological winter treatment for the apple tree), mowing, and pruning. Its southern orientation, on a gentle slope and protected from the prevailing winds by hedges, together with a nutrient-rich and balanced soil, result in apples with exceptional must yield and optimal organoleptic characteristics.
We cultivate 13 native apple varieties with PDO, each planted in individual blocks to ensure their purity in the harvesting and subsequent production of the best Sidra de Asturias PDO Organic ciders in the main cider mills in the region.
Preserving the Legacy of Our Ancestors
Asturias presents excellent edaphoclimatic conditions for apple cultivation, and until the mid-20th century, it was the largest producer of dessert apples in the entire Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately, many plantations and varieties have disappeared over time.
In order to preserve this valuable legacy of our ancestors, we have maintained and renewed a hectare of dessert apples that has been awarded on numerous occasions. We cultivate varieties such as Garcíasol, Reineta Encarnada, Carrió, Florina, Liberty, and Priscilla.
The Charm of Asturian Kiwi
In the center of our farm, we also have a plantation of kiwis of the Abbott and Hayward varieties. This delicious fruit, originally from the forests of the Yangtze River valley in China, arrived in Asturias in the 1980s and has adapted perfectly to our climate.
Happy Hens, Exceptional Eggs
The idea of making better use of our farm, along with the need to have the best existing organic fertilizer for our apple trees, led us to resume livestock, but this time, not with cows, but with hens.
In 2011, COPAE certified us as the first organic laying hen farm in Asturias. Our birds are fed mainly on the pasture and apples (in season) from our orchard, complemented with high-quality organic cereals. We dedicate 18,000 m2 of orchard for the hens to enjoy a unique outdoor space, well above the 6,000 m2 required by the organic livestock regulations.
In this way, our hens never lack quality pasture, and it is in this pasture that the difference in the quality of our organic village eggs lies, so unique and appreciated.