Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Loquat & Cherries


The first summer fruits have ripened! Along with the grapefruit and lemons we have had since winter, we now have loquat (or biwa) and cherries. We had a light crop of cherries this year though, so they probably won't last very long.

At the fruit stand we now have:
Cherries--Bing, Royal Ann, Black Tartarian
Loquat--also called biwa, a juicy, sweet yellow-orange fruit (not related to kumquats) that grows in clusters. Inside in the middle are two large brown seeds.
Grapefruit--white variety
Lemons--Eureka
Honey--from bees living at our orchard
Organic vegetable seedlings--from Peas and Harmony

Above is a photo of the biwa tree at the orchard.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

How to Make Tomato Cages


At the orchard we have really sturdy and strong tomato cages for our gardens that we make ourselves out of concrete reinforcing wire (or mesh). The cages last for many seasons and are tall enough to support even the bushiest indeterminate tomato plants. Last year Toshio made some new ones and we took photos so we could better share how to make them. Click here to go to a photos and detailed instructions on how to make your own tomato cages from a roll of concrete reinforcing wire.

Above is a photo of one of the gardens this year, showing tomato cages we made.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Persimmon Flowers and the Fruit Stand


Persimmon trees are in bloom, and buzzing with bees. At left is a photo of a bee visiting persimmon flowers.

For sale at the fruit stand now we have grapefruit, lemons, honey from our bees, eggs from our chickens and organic vegetable seedlings from Peas and Harmony. Right now is the time of year we have the least amount of produce in season. By the end of the month we expect to have the first fruits of Spring, such as cherries, apricots, loquat and the first plums.

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