My apologies for not updating this page for almost a month. We got slammed with an early harvest of peaches and plums. My waking hours were spent sorting and processing the daily harvest. When I sat down at the computer I usually fell asleep. Mother nature seems to be sending different signals to the trees this year. Our peaches and plums are maturing about 3 weeks early. For those of you who are consulting our harvest schedule, please make note to check early for products you see on the schedule.
Peaches are definitely here. Early peaches are gone, mid-season varieties are showing up. One of our favorites, Red Haven, is ready. We will have a steady supply for at least a week. Growing and getting more color every day are the renown Suncrest peaches.
Many plum varieties are coming into the farm stand. Burgundy, Mariposa, Eldorado, Laroda, and Black Amber. There is still an ample supply of Santa Rosa plums. We should have some pluots soon although some varieties are sparse.
The gardens are transforming to summer vegetables. The peas, komatsuna, broccoli and lettuce have given up. Our vegetable offerings have been a bit scarce for a week but now the summer vegetables are starting to perform. We are starting to get zucchini, chard and cucumbers. As I prepare to publish this update we get our first two baskets of Sungold cherry tomatoes and a bunch of basil.
Hours
Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 to 6:00
Sunday 11:00 to 5:00
Closed on Monday
Here is what we have at the Farm Stand from Otow Orchard.
VEGETABLES:
Zucchini: Green summer squash fresh out of the garden. Tender green squash with white flesh.
Basil: Fragrant and flavorful. Can be used in salads, sauces and pesto.
FRUIT:
Red Haven Peaches: This variety is frequently requested. It is a yellow freestone peach with red streaked flesh. It is sweet with a unique pleasing flavor. Great for fresh eating, canning, freezing or baking.
June Pride Peaches: Dark skinned yellow freestone. Somewhat crisp texture with sweet-tart flavor. Used for fresh eating and baking. (Limited supply).
White Peaches:
Sugar Lady, Babcock, Opale are firm white, freestone peaches. They are low acid, sweet and tasty.
Silver Logan and Nectar are soft fleshed white peaches. They are juicy, sweet and low acid.
Blenheim Apricots: Much desired variety of apricots. These light orange apricots may retain green shoulders even when fully ripe. They are sweet with some tang. Juicy, fragrant and a rich flavor profile (limited supply).
Santa Rosa Plums: Very popular and very tasty. Known for their sweet tart taste and amazing flavor and fragrance. Great for fresh eating as well as for jams.
Burgundy plums: Dark skin, round with little speckles. Burgundy plums have deep red fleshed when ripened and are very sweet with mild skin.
Black Amber plums: Dark skin over amber red meaty flesh. Sweet tart flavor and fragrant. Key ingredient for Black Amber Plum pie.
Black Amber Plum Pie
Double pie crust
4 1/2 cups Black Amber plums, unpeeled and sliced.
(about 3 pounds)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Tapioca
1/4 tsp Almond extract
Mix all ingredients together except pie crusts. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pour into pie crust. Top with one tablespoon diced butter. Put on top pie crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees until bubbly for 45 to 50 minutes.
Other plums to be harvested are Eldorado, Laroda, Frontier, and Mariposa.
Hoshigaki : These are whole dried persimmons. They are hand massaged while they dry 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. We are currently selling hoshigaki at the farm stand. For on farm orders of more than 1 pound it is best to email or call us to make a pre order.
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Hoshigaki strips: Thin slices of hoshigaki for snacking.
Valencia: These are juicing oranges but most people just peel and eat like any other orange. They are sweet and very juicy.
Eureka lemons: Firm and sour lemons. Great for adding flavor or making lemonade.
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:
Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, is again bringing us conventionally grown, beautiful peaches.
Flavorcrest: Yellow freestone peaches. Sweet and juicy with a bit of tang (limited supply).
Suncrest : Yellow freestone peaches. Predicted to arrive the last week of June. These are sweet, juicy and very flavorful peaches. The book Epitaph for a Peach, by David Mas Masumoto was written about harvesting Suncrest peaches.
La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. (Limited supply.)
Stoney Point Farm in Loomis, CA. (Organic certified) is bringing us Rio Red Grapefruit. These large grapefruit are juicy, sweet and red fleshed. Low in bitterness.
Arrow Place in Auburn (no spray) is still bringing us 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.
Gardening tip: How I saved melon sprouts from cutworm damage.
Strip of foil triple folded.
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| Make a short circular strip that will circle the stem of the plant. |
I used a small screwdriver to place the strip around the stem and close it off.
Now safe from hungry cutworms.
