SLOW SEASON HOURS

    What does slow season look like on the farm at the beginning of February?   No fresh persimmons, apples, peaches, plums, tomatoes or squash.  We are dreaming of the next crop of these.  Branches are bare with no leaves or fruit.  Vegetable seeds are still hiding in their little seed packets waiting for soil and moisture. workers are pruning branches, cleaning up last year's summer gardens, and the tractor is tilling the soil and adding decomposed horse manure to the orchard and gardens. 

 

     Slow Season is citrus season.  We have mandarins. lemons, and oranges.  Satsuma mandarins from Otow Orchard have sold out but we have a supply from Mihara Farm in Lincoln.  Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln brought us Navel and Cara Cara Oranges.  Lupi Farm in Granite Bay is supplying us with beautiful fragrant Meyer Lemons. Our own orchard is supplying us with Clementine mandarins and  Navel oranges.  In a few weeks we will be getting pink grapefruit.

    The Kiwi vine is slowly giving us a small harvest.  We would like the kiwi to be vine ripened but frost may dictate the harvest. Wait and see.

    We received a shipment of  bare root fruit trees for planting.  We have selected our favorite varieties to replant bare spots in the orchard.  Since we had to order more than we need we are making trees available for sale here at the orchard. We have peaches, plums, apples, mulberries, apricots, and ume.

    It may be February but the hoshigaki we peeled in December is still being processed. They are finished drying but we are giving them another massage and sorting them by texture and quality. Hoshigaki is available in the farm stand and through mail order. Please contact us for large on-farm pick up orders.  For mail orders, please use our mail order form. 

   Please note, we will be closed on Sundays and Mondays till mid May.  We are open Friday and Saturday and have abbreviated hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.   Sorry for the inconvenience.  You are welcome to call me for special hours at (916) 300-0720, or (916) 791-1656. 

 

Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Open Tues,Wed and Thurs only two hours 11:30 to 1:30

Open Fri and Sat:   10am to 6pm

 

Here is what we have at the Farm Stand from Otow Orchard.

 Persimmn Pulp:  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp is available. Often used to make cookies, puddings and breads.  Many customers put it on yogurt and oatmeal  or add it to their smoothie.

Asian Pears:  Asian pears should be enjoyed while firm and crisp like an apple.

          Okusankichi:  Large brown Asian pear. Crisp and juicy.  This is a winter keeper and is not as sweet as the earlier varieties.  Very refreshing. Thick skin with course white flesh. Flavor improves with storage.

Clementine Mandarins:  Deep orange easy to peel skin, Sweet and juicy.

Hoshigaki :  These are whole dried persimmons.  They were hand massaged while they dried over a period of four to eight weeks.  Some are firm, others are soft and moist.  All are coated with naturally formed white persimmon sugar.  No sugar added and no preservatives used. We strive to make the best hoshigaki without any shortcuts.  This takes time and attention during the drying season.  Hoshigaki are now available in the farm stand.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  For mail orders please use our mail order form.

Local Honey  Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard is also available.

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:  Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes.

Here is what we have from other producers:

Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln, no spray.

    Navel Oranges:  Sweet and juicy, orange fleshed oranges.

     Cara Cara Oranges:  These oranges are orange on the outside but pinkish orange on the inside. Plus the flesh is sweet and juicy. They are thin skinned and sweeter than navels. 

 

Mihara Farm in Lincoln, Conventional practices.

     Satsuma Mandarins:  Easy to peel, sweet mandarins from the foothills of Placer County. These are are citrus y sweet and full of juice.

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, no spray:  Meyer Lemons:  These sought after lemons are less acidic than regular lemons. They have a thin peel often used for its fragrant zest.  Meyer are rounder than regular lemons with a dark yellow skin.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.  Limited supply.

 

The California Persimmon Recipe Book:  Introduction to basic persimmon knowledge followed by recipes for the different types of persimmons.

 

MANDARINS AND HOSHIGAKI

    Winter is here and our citrus are starting.  Mandarins are the star of the season.  Sweet, juicy and easy to peel.  We have been selling mandarins from the foothills where they seem to mature earlier than  for us in Granite Bay.  We have started to harvest our trees.  As in past years we wait to  harvest hoping the fruit will be sweeter and more flavorful. The disadvantage is that we run the risk of frost damage.  So far there have been no threats of damaging low temperatures.  😀

    Lupi Farm in Granite Bay is bringing us Meyer Lemons.  Meyer Lemons are a cross between a citron and a mandarin.  They are yellow with a tint of orange in the skin and are sweeter and less acidic than traditional lemons.  The skin is fragrant and the zest often used  to flavor special dishes. I use them in desserts and to brighten salad dressings.  I also add juice to soups and stews and of course in a cup of sweetened tea.

    Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln just delivered boxes of CaraCara oranges. These oranges are orange on the outside but pinkish orange on the inside. Plus the flesh is sweet and juicy. They are thin skinned and sweeter than navals.

    I hesitate to announce this too early but modified hours are coming. These hours will apply for the months of February, March, April and most of May.  

            Closed Sundays and Mondays.

            Open Tues, Wed and Thurs only two hours 11:30 to  1:30

            Open Fri and Sat:   10am to 6pm

During these slow months we normally sell oranges, grapefruit, lemons, honey, hoshigaki and kiwi.

    Persimmon harvest is over.  We continue to have persimmons to sell at the farm stand.  The Fuyu are getting sweeter but admittedly  more tender. We have more sweet, soft Hachiyas than hard ones. Some customers are freezing the pulp in zip top bags for winter smoothies and for baking.  The brown flesh persimmons and the Vodka persimmons have sold out for now.

    Hoshigaki processing is still keeping us busy.  Although we have no fresh Hachiya to peel, there is still a lot of massaging and handling going on in the finishing stage of making hoshigaki.  We seem to have gotten a late start so the season has dragged on into January and maybe February.  We are caught up on the hoshigaki pre orders and are accepting new orders. For mail orders use our  mail order form.  For large on farm pick up orders call (916) 791-1656 or email at :  otoworchard@yahoo.com

    Just when I thought  I could see the end of hoshigaki work I spied this pile of strings. Loops of strings with a a stem attached to each end.  I'll be using my spare time for the next few months removing each stem before washing the strings to get them ready for the next season of Hoshigaki processing.  Thanks to my sister-in-law, I only have to clean half of them.

    

 

 

REGULAR HOURS

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

            Sunday: 11:00 to 5:00

Closed on Mondays

Here is what we have at the Farm Stand from Otow Orchard.

    Mandarins:  Satsuma.  Small mandarins that are sweet, juicy, and easy to peel. Great for snacking and getting your vitamin C. 

 

Persimmon:

    Hachiya:  Popular persimmon.  Until soft it is very astringent.  Hachiya are tall and pointed like an acorn.  These are often used in cookies, breads, and puddings.  Many people enjoy just eating them out of hand or pairing them with ice cream, smoothies, or oatmeal.  This is also the variety most commonly used to make hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmons).   Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp is also available. 

    Fuyu:  Very popular persimmon. They are always sweet and usually eaten hard like an apple. However, it is late in the season so they are sweet, soft and juicy with peach like texture.

 

 

Quince:  Firm yellow fruit, always tart, wonderfully aromatic.  Used for jam, jelly, candy, and sauce due to its high pectin content. Often added to stews.

Asian Pears:  Asian pears should be enjoyed while firm and crisp like an apple.

         Okusankichi:  Large brown Asian pear. Crisp and juicy.  This is a winter keeper and is not as sweet as the earlier varieties.  Very refreshing. Thick skin with course white flesh. Flavor improves with storage.

Hoshigaki :  These are whole dried persimmons.  They were hand massaged while they dried over a period of four to eight weeks.  Some are firm, others are soft and moist.  All are coated with naturally formed white persimmon sugar.  No sugar added and no preservatives used. We strive to make the best hoshigaki without any shortcuts.  This takes time and attention during the drying season.  Hoshigaki are now available in the farm stand.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  For mail orders please use our mail order form.

Local Honey  Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard is also available.

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:  Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes.

Here is what we have from other producers:

Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln, no spray.

     Cara Cara Oranges:  These oranges are orange on the outside but pinkish orange on the inside. Plus the flesh is sweet and juicy. They are thin skinned and sweeter than navels.

Mihara Farm in Lincoln, Conventional practices.

     Satsuma Mandarins:  Easy to peel, sweet mandarins from the foothills of Placer County. These are are citrus y sweet/tart and full of juice.

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, no spray:  Meyer Lemons:  These sought after lemons are less acidic than regular lemons. They have a thin peel often used for its fragrant zest.  Meyer are rounder than regular lemons with a dark yellow skin.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.  Limited supply.

 

The California Persimmon Recipe Book:  Introduction to basic persimmon knowledge followed by recipes for the different types of persimmons.

 

 Most of our fruits trees are bare.The first to blossom for the spring are the ume trees.  When I walked to the ume trees I can smell the gentle fragrance of the blossoms and hear the humming of busy bees.