WAITING FOR PEACHES

 Still waiting for peaches.  There are green peaches on the trees.  Just waiting for the right time to ripen.  We love the cooler weather we have been getting but it has not signaled the summer fruits to ripen.  Maturity is delayed about 2 weeks.  Production is about 10% of normal due to the wet blossom season we had.  Unfortunately we had to limit customers to 2 or 3 early peaches  😢.   In the next week we will be starting Flavorcrest, Regina and Red Haven varieties.  Again, not a big crop but hopefully enough to increase the limit.

Santa Rosa plums have started to show good color.  Their fragrance is beginning to fill the farm stand.  This is one of the all time favorite plums.  It is full of flavor and fragrance.  It  has just the right balance of sweet and tart to excite the palate.

The loquat harvest is in full swing.  Loquat are small yellow tropical fruit with a downy skin.  The flesh between the skin and large seed is sweet,  juicy and fleshy.  

A little surprise.  The worker brought in Brown Turkey figs!  I'm glad he found them before the birds did.  It's time for the fig breba crop, so these are large.  I'm hoping the Black Mission and Penache will soon follow.

There are still boxes of conventionally grown ume in storage.   I am trying my hand at ume syrup this year.  My brother is getting more confident pickling umeboshi.  This year he is making his first attempt at making umeshu.

Vegetables are happy. We are currently harvesting armloads of zucchini and yellow squash. They are so fresh, tender and easy to cook.  Japanese cucumbers are also coming into the farm stand.  As good as ever with their thin skin, crispness, sweet taste and seedless flesh.   Time to dig out the Soy sauce sesame dressing recipe.  Every other day I look forward to picking a few deep orange sungold cherry tomatoes.  Each time I get a little more than the last picking.  Standard tomatoes are on the vines but still green.  Their time will come. 

Helping us out are WoodRose Country Garden and Kijani Farm.  

WoodRose brings us lettuce, beans, peppers,  carrots,onions, snow peas, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, basil, and herbs.  Standard tomatoes are starting to color.  We have been enjoying cherries from WoodRose and also small ornamental plums. 

Kijani Farm is bringing us 2 varieties of kale and red chard.

Sadly we announce the last delivery of honey from Top O' The Hill Apiary.  Health issues are causing George to shut down his bee operation.  He has cared for bees for many years and is a wealth of knowledge on beekeeping and bee products. He  is a living treasure.

Many of you pursued us during the spring road construction project.  Thank you for your fortitude.  It has been quiet on Eureka for a week.  I think the construction is finished for now. 

HOURS:

Tues through Sat  10:00 am to 6 pm 

Sunday  11:00am to 5:00 pm

CLOSED ON MONDAYS 

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

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.  They should be stored in the  freezer if not consumed within a day and definitely kept cool at all times.  You may purchase these at our farm stand. 

Loquat:  Small orange tropical fruit. sweet and fleshy. Contains a large seed.

Lemons and Santa Rosa plums

Plums:  Santa Rosa:  Heirloom variety. Sweet tart and extremely flavorful and fragrant. This variety has stood the test of time and is very popular for good reasons.

Peaches: Very limited supply. 

Valencia Oranges:   Juicy, sweet with some tartness.  These are juicing oranges and also good for eating fresh

Yellow Grapefruit:   Flavorful and juicy.  Sweet tart with a wonderfully bitter background.

 

Eureka Lemons:  These are the tart lemons.  Great for lemonade or Lemon Meringue Pie.

Figs:  Brown Turkey, Black Mission.  Limited supply        

Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard.

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm 

 

Look what's blooming. Chestnuts.

Dehydrated grapefruit and lemons

Summer Squash: zucchini and yellow squash

Cucumbers:  Japanese cucumbers are thin skinned, crisp, seedless and sweet.

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden  in Granite Bay, organic practices:  lettuce, spinach, summer squash, onions, basil, Italian parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, fresh garlic, bell peppers, beans. carrots, snow peas, and cherry tomatoes.

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay: Honey🍯. Top of the Hill Apiary also has bees wax 🐝.

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

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay:  Japanese Ume plums:  These small very tart apricots are pickled for Japanese  cuisine.  They are commonly pickled in salt, sugar, honey, or alcohol.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices:  Red Russian Kale, Dino Kale, Swiss Chard

Sunnyslope Farm Eventually they will bring us some peaches.  

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, no spray.  Black Mission figs

LITTLE GREEN FRUITLETS

      Many little green fruitlets are now visible in the orchard. I have seen  plum, plout, peach, fig, apple and Asian pears.  We are starting to thin peaches, plums and pluots to get better size and quality.  It is a tedious and important task.  I like to stand on a ladder and listen to the "plink plink" sound the fruitlets make as they bounce off the aluminum ladder.

 

     We were tempted but glad we didn't.  The weather has been warming up so we thought about planting vegetables.  With the few cold mornimg we have been having, it would have been a sad start for them.  Hopefully we soon will be getting tomatoes, eggplants and  peppers  in the ground.  Also we will be seeding squash, cucumbers, beans, and okra.

 

      We are watching the ume, " Japanese pickling plum" slowly grow. If we can dodge hail and freezing weather for the next month, we will have a medium size crop.   If you want to reserve ume, please call us at (916) 791-1656 or email us at otoworchard@yahoo.com

GREEN UME

Sadly, this 100 year old tree

 will not produce ume again.

 

 

SLOW SEASON HOURS:

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY  11:30 TO 1:30

FRIDAY, SATURDAY                              10:00 TO 6:00

SUNDAY                           11:00 TO 5:00

CLOSED ON MONDAYS

Since we are often at the farm anyway, you may call us to arrange for other times. 

Farm Stand:      (916) 791-1656

Mobile phone:   (916) 300-0720

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

Kiwi

Yellow grapefruit 

Eureka lemons 🍋

Hachiya:  frozen pulp 

Cilantro         

Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard

⚘ Calendula Salve and Lip Balm 

 

Here is what we have from other producers:

Stoney Point Orchard in Loomis is an organic certified orchard.  They are bringing us Pink grapefruit and Limequats.

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay: No spray Meyer Lemons, 🍋 known for flavor and fragrance. These lemons are less tart than regular lemons, with floral fragrance and bright taste.   Great for adding to your water or tea. Can also be used in salad dressings and sauces.

WoodRose Country Gardens  in Granite Bay:  🥕 Organic carrots.

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay: Honey🍯. Top of the Hill Apiary also has bees wax 🐝.

Jams 🍑 from the Good Stuff. We currently have Quince Marmalade. 

La Bella Vito Farm is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.

 

PERSIMMONS ARE COMING

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As farmers, we had  to be outdoors during the Caldor fire.  We "masked up" for a week.  At this time the smoke has thankfully travelled to other regions.

Now we are moving from summer to fall produce.  Gone are the figs, peaches and cucumbers. They are being replaced by apples, pears, Asian pears, and persimmons.

The vegetable gardens are hanging on with okra, eggplant, squash and chilies.  I took this photo of the squash plant, not for the squash but so you can see the toad that found a cozy place to rest.  The garden toads provide insect control. I am thankful for their presence.

SPECIAL HOURS

Please note that Sept 24 to Sept 28 we have modified hours.

Fri Sept 24    10am to 4pm

Sat Sept 25   10am to 4pm

Sun Sept 26     CLOSED

Mon Sept 27     Closed

Tues Sept 28  10am to 4pm.

Regular hours resume Wed. Sept 29.  Please plan for these hours so you are not disappointed. 😞

       Hoshigaki, dried persimmons, are available in the farm stand.  On warm days you may need to ask for them.  We have to keep them in a cool place so they don't melt.  Hot weather makes shipping Hoshigaki through mail order a bit risky.  For mail order, it's best to contact us for a discussion of the possibilities.

 

HOURS:

Tues. through Sat.      10:00  am to 6:00 pm           

 

          Sunday         11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Elephant Heart:  Red Fleshed plums

Eldorado:  Yellow fleshed plums that are sweet when eaten firm

Cassselman: Yellow fleshed, sweet and flavorful.

Grapes:  Kyoho, Red Purlett, Thompson seedless.

Asian Pears:  Yellow: Yali.  Brown: Yoi and Shinko.These pears are sweet, juicy, and crisp

European pears: D'Anjou, Bartlett

Apples: Red Delicious

Jujube:  Li:  Small brown or yellow fruit with apple like texture.  They are sweet and easy to eat. Some eat them hard and crisp others wait for them to get shriveled and chewy.

Quince: Yellow fruit in the pear/apple family.  Seldom eaten raw.  It can be baked like apples or sauced like apples. High in pectin, they are often used for jelly and Dulce de membrillo (Quince candy).  Naturally sour but full of aroma and flavor.

White Pomegranates:  These light skinned pomegranates have sweet pink ariels.

Persimmons:  Early season persimmons are coming into the farm stand. Perhaps not as full flavored as later harvested fruit. We have soft and hard Hachiya and brown fleshed Maru, Nagamaru, and Coffee Cake persimmons.  Sorry, no Fuyu persimmons yet.

Hoshigaki:  Tender and moist dried persimmons with naturally formed dusting of fruit sugars on the surface.  These were hand massaged and  dried slowly for 4 to 8 weeks.

Vegetables:    Summer squash, long beans, okra, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, chilies,  Asian eggplants, Italian eggplants, tomatillos, and Garlic.  Winter squash: Kabocha and Delicata

Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard.

Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard

⚘ Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay:  Anaheim chiles, jalapenos, 🍅, San Marzano paste tomatoes, beans, eggplant, bell peppers, white onions, basil, 🌿rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Leafy greens are starting to show up for salads.

Sunnyslope Farm: Apples:  Fuji and Golden delicious

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay: Honey.  Top of the Hill Apiary also has Bees wax 🐝.

Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay:  🐔🥚  Eggs.  Egg production is slowing down. 

Jams 🍑 from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum, Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, and Quince Marmalade.

MOVING INTO FALL

 
We don't know what the smoke and heat are doing to our crops but us farmers don't like it.  Masking for COVID and now masking to protect us from forest fire smoke.  Thank you to all our customers that have been braving the current conditions to support our farm.   

         Peaches are definitely starting to wane.  We are harvesting our last varieties for the year:   Summerset and Late Alamar.  Sunnyslope Farm is bringing us O'Henry and then Tra Zee.  

         Asian Pears are taking the place of peaches in our fram stand.  We  have 20th Century and New Century yellow pears.  Hosui, Yoi and Shinko brown pears are also being harvested.    These pears are eaten sweet, juicy and crisp.

        I wish I could say we have apples, but the turkey had a feast with Gala apples.  Now we are waiting for Red and Golden Delicious Apples. 

         The beautiful Kyoho grapes are now coming into the farm stand.  These are seeded grapes with concord-like flavor. So sweet

and juicy.  We also have the seedless sweet Red Purlett grapes.

 

         Tomatoes are one crop that appreciated all the warm weather.  For a while the supply was receding  but now we are getting a better supply.  The fruit is smaller in size  but just as tasty and juicy.  We are also selling tomatoes from WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay.

  It is still plum and pluot season. We have Kelsey (green skin), Casselman  and Late Santa Rosa plums.  Our red-fleshed Elephant Heart Plums are occasionally available.There is a good  supply of Dapple Dandy and Flavor Queen pluots.  Both are very sweet.

 
      We are selling hoshigaki from last season.  It is available at the farm stand as whole pieces.  We are curtailing mail orders till the weather cools, probably September or October if we still have a supply.

      There are several local honey choices at this time.  Our own beekeeper has honey from Otow Orchard as well as orange blossom honey from a valley citrus grove.  Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay has honey and boxes of beautiful comb honey.

HOURS:

Tues through Sat   10 am to 6 pm

Sun.                       11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Yellow Flesh Plums:
      Casselman:  sweet tart and juicy

      Late Santa Rosa: Firm sweet tart

      Kelsey:  Sweet, green skin  

Pluots:

      Dapple Dandy: sweet and meaty

      FlavorQueen:  Yellow skin with very sweet flesh

Yellow Freestone Peaches:
      O'Henry
      Rio Oso Gem 

      Summerset

Grapes:

        Kyoho: Large, purple, seeded grapes with concord-like flavor

        Red Purlett:  Red, seedless, sweet grapes
Figs:  Brown Turkey, Penache, Black Mission

Hoshigaki:  whole
Honey and bee pollen from bees at Otow Orchard
Calendula Salve and Lip Balm
Tomatoes:  red,  heirloom, Roma, cherry
Chilies
Cucumbers:  Asian, Lemon and Armenian
Asian eggplant
Okra

Persimmon Pulp


Here is what we have from other producers:
Yellow Peaches from Sunnyslope Farm (conventionally grown):  O'Henry

Wood Rose Country Garden: American eggplant, basil, jalapenos, bell peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and cantalope.
Orange Blossom Honey from our bee keeper
Top O' the Hill Apiary:  Honey, and comb honey
Eggs from Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay
Jams from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, Chili Blackberry, and Quince Marmalade

 

ORCHARD IN BLOOM

A little early, but spring seems to be here or summer is on its way.  White and pink blossoms are showing off the orchard.  If you would like to see the flowers, you are welcome to come for a walk.  This show will not last very long, so now is the time.  Soon we will see miniature green fruit on the trees.  Please check our modified hours listed below.

        We are preparing to plant new trees. Old trees have been removed and new holes are being dug.  Mulch is being delivered to the planting sites.   This year we are planting new apple, plum, peach, pluot and persimmon trees.

        With the dry weather the vegetable gardens have not had to fight so many weeds.  We are preparing the beds for planting.  In the hot house  we have planted tomato, pepper and eggplant seeds.  It is exciting to watch them germinate and show up as little green leaves and stems.

       In the farm stand it is definitely citrus season.  There are blood oranges, white grapefruit, and navel oranges from  our orchard.  Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln brought us Cara Cara oranges (pink interior), Navel oranges and Eureka lemons. There are pink grapefruit from Mihara Farm, in Lincoln. We also have a good crop of Kiwi for sale.

      Some people are looking for local honey at this time of year.  We have raw  wildflower honey from Granite Bay and unfiltered, raw honey from Lincoln.  The Otow Orchard  honey is sold out until the bees have a chance to collect more.  This should happen sometime in May or June.  Currently the hives are working in an almond orchard and then onto an orange grove before heading home to us.

       Slowly we are working on the finishing stages for hoshigaki. We are sorting and packaging them for sale in the farm stand or vacuum sealing them for longer storage in the freezer.  Since the weather is cool, we continue to fill mail order requests for hoshigaki.  If you would like to order, please click here for mail order form.

Official Statement: We have NO pick-your-own activities.

  SLOW SEASON HOURS

      Tues, Wed, Thur:      11:30 am  to  1:30 pm       
Fri, Sat:      10 am to 6 pm
Sun:            11 am to 5 pm
Closed on Mondays

    

WE ASK THAT YOU KINDLY DO NOT DISTURB DURING NON BUSINESS HOURS.   For other times please call my mobile phone.  You must leave a message if you are not already in my phone.   (916) 300-0720.  We are often here someplace and will gladly arrange to help you.  We normally return to regular hours in May.

Here's what we have in the farm stand from Otow Orchard:
Kiwi
Hoshigaki: dried persimmons
Citrus:  Blood Orange, Navel Oranges, White Grapefruit
Rosemary
Calendula salve and lip balm
Nuts:  Walnuts and Pecans 
Dried or dehydrated fruit:  apples, peaches, jujube

This is what we have from other producers: 
Pleasant Hill Farm:  Navel oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Eureka lemons
Mihara Farm:  Pink grapefruit
Jams from The Good Stuff
Bee pollen from Top O' The Hill Apiary
Honey from Top O' The Hill Apiary
Honey(Unfiltered) from Nastase Honey Farm
Eggs from Two Feather Farm
        

WORKING VACATION FOR HONEY BEES

The honey bees have returned from their annual vacation.  They spent most of March in almond orchards then moved on to citrus groves.  Now they are back with us and starting to collect nectar from wildflowers and persimmon blossoms.

        So much of farming hinges on the weather we get.  Every year is different. At last it is warm enough to put tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in the ground.  The cucumber, okra, long bean, and squash seeds are starting to germinate. We see rows and rows of little green potential.

         Reminder: we are still on slow season hours through May 17:   Tu, Wed, Th 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.  Fri, Sat: 10 am to 6 pm. Sun:  10 am to 5 pm,  Closed on Mondays.  Regular season hours will start on May 18th, 2018.

Here's what we have in the farm stand from Otow Orchard:

Yellow grapefruit

Eureka lemons

Valencia oranges

Hoshigaki  (No longer available though Mail Order. )

Dehydrated  figs

Salve and Lip Balm

This is what we have from other producers:

Winter vegetables from Barley Oats Farm

Local honey  from Top O'The Hill Apiary in Granite Bay

Jams from The Good Stuff
Eggs from Two Feather Farm

AH CHOO

For those of you looking for local honey, we are now selling honey from 2 local apiaries.  Natase Farm in Lincoln is bringing us raw, unfiltered honey.  Top O' The Hill Apiary in Granite Bay is bringing us raw, filtered blackberry honey and wildflower honey.  Top O' The Hill Apiary is also selling comb honey for people looking for this unique product.  We also have lip balm and salve made from bees wax collected at Otow Orchard.
            Peach and plum blossoms are about done and we are watching for little tiny fruits.  Apple, pear and cherry blossoms are starting to push open.  Hope they survive the next rain storm.  Christy and I are starting to put seeds in our vegetable gardens and we are tending tomato, eggplant and pepper plant starts.
        

These are our April hours:  

TU, WED, THUR:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Fri, Sat:    10 am to 6 pm

Sun:          10 am to 5 pm

Mon: Closed

If you need to come at a different time, please leave a message at

(916) 300-0720 for an appointment.
May 1, 2018 we will resume our regular hours .

Here's what we have in the farm stand now from Otow Orchard:

Blood oranges

Yellow grapefruit

Eureka lemons

Hoshigaki  (Also available though Mail Order.  See home page)

Pecans
Dehydrated  figs and Asian pears
Salve and Lip Balm

This is what we have from other producers:

Eureka Lemons from Mihara Farm

Kiwi from Mihara Farm

Winter vegetables from Barley Oats Farm

Raw honey from Nastase  Honey Farm in Lincoln
Local honey an comb honey from Top O'The Hill Apiary in Granite Bay

Jams from The Good Stuff
Eggs from Two Feather Farm

TIME FOR MANDARINS

        Sad to say, fall fruits are disappearing from our farm stand.  Citrus season is developing.  We now have mandarins from Otow Orchard.  By February we should have Blood Oranges and Navel oranges.
       We are still selling soft Hachiya persimmons and there is frozen pulp in our freezer.    Also from the fall season are Okusankichi Asian Pears.
       We will be finished squeezing hoshigaki this week.  Then they are headed to the freezer for curing.   Then we will pull them out and finish sorting and packing them as requested.  If you want to mail order hoshigaki please down load the order form from the home page of this web site.  Hoshigaki is also available at the farm stand.
        Out in the orchard the leaves have dropped and birds have gleaned any fruit left on the trees.  We are able to clean the trees and remove diseased leaves and mummy fruit.  During dry periods we are pruning trees. Signs of the next crop are beginning to show up.  We see spots of blossoming pink and white ume flowers in the orchard.  The bees are gleaning nectar when the weather permits.

WHAT'S IN THE FARM STAND:
Hoshigaki
Soft hachiya persimmons
Okusankichi Asian pears
Satsuma mandarins
Pecans
Bees wax candles
Persimmon cook books
Calendula salve and lip balm
Honey from Nastasae farm in Lincoln, CA
Jams from The Good Stuff

BARLEY OATS FARM:
On Thursday, Saturday and Sunday we have a fresh display of winter vegetables from BarleyOats Farm. We have bok choy, lettuce, broccoli, kale, radish, daikon, green onion, leeks, fennel and more.

Just a reminder: We are taking a one day vacation day, Sunday Feb 11, 2018. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday.

 

Late Spring at the Orchard

Beehives in the orchard just before a storm

In the fruit stand now we have pink grapefruit, yellow grapefruit, Eureka lemons, Swiss chard, fresh herbs, hoshigaki, local free-range eggs and honey from bees at the orchard.  Hoshigaki can still be ordered by mail order. 

This month you can also buy grapefruit, lemons and hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon) from us through the Sierra Foothills Producers Co-op.  Make your order online by 4:00 Friday, May 10th and pick it up the next week either at Otow orchard or one of the other pick up locations. This month the Producers Co-op has chicken, quail and duck eggs, organic greens, locally made cheese, honey, sauces, naturally raised meat and other items. 

In the orchard the persimmons and pomegranates are blooming.  Grass is turning brown from the lack of rain.  People have been thinning the Asian pear in an effort to help the trees produce fewer but bigger fruit.  The vegetable gardens are almost planted.  We've been trying to finish planting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, summer squash and cucumbers now that the weather is warmer even at night. 

Early Peaches

A sign that summer is here--the first peaches, zucchini, and apricots have been picked and are now available at the fruit stand. We have peaches from us and also from our neighbors, the Koyamas.  New also are handmade 100% beeswax candles made from beeswax that comes from bees at our orchard.  The one-pound candles burn for approximately 100 hours.  They are clean, soot-free and made of renewable material. 

Right now we're giving out coupons if you spend $10.00 or more.  The coupon gives you $1.00 off fruits and vegetables on your next visit.

Here's what's at the Fruit Stand now:

• Cherries
• Apricots
• Peaches--May Crest, June Crest, Bonjour
• Plums--Red Beaut
• Loquat (Biwa)
• Citrus Fruit--Grapefruit, Valencia Oranges, Eureka Lemons
• Vegetables--Zucchini (limited supply), Swiss chard
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint
• Honey--from bees at our orchard
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax
• Placer County Real Food Cookbook, by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny
• Applewood for barbeque

Blenheim Apricots & Santa Rosa Plums

Black Beauty, Dark Green, Kusa, Success PM Straightneck & Goldy varieties of zucchini

We now have apricots and new varieties of plums and peaches ripe at the orchard, and zucchini is ready from the gardens. You can still pick up ume (Japanese plum), too.

Here's what's at the fruit stand now:

• Plums--Santa Rosa, red beaut, Frontier
  
• Peaches--Bon Jour, Flavor Crest (yellow free-stone varieties)
  
• Apricots--Patterson, Blenheim
• Oranges--Valencia (juice oranges)
• Vegetables--zucchini, Swiss chard, red onions and herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano, mint)
  
• Local Honey--(from bees living at our orchard)
• Eggs

Late Spring, almost Summer

Persimmon flowers being visited by bees.

Citrus trees have been blossoming and the wind has been carrying the perfume scent of the flowers around the orchard.  Persimmons trees started flowering and bees have been visiting the clusters of small yellowish flowers. When you stand by a citrus or persimmon tree you can hear the bees buzzing. In the orchard we're continuing to mow and to thin fruit from the apple and nashi (Asian pear) trees.  Chris has been putting out parasitic trichogramma wasp eggs and lacewing eggs in the trees because they are beneficial insects that prey upon larvae of orchard and garden pests.  We finally finished planting summer vegetables and seedlings in the gardens. Because of the late rains and cool weather this spring the gardens got put in later than usual.  

We have stopped mail orders for hoshigaki (hand-dried persimmon) until October.  The temperatures have now warmed enough that the coating of natural powdery sugar on the outside of the persimmons is at risk of melting during shipping. We have hoshigaki strips and small amounts of hoshigaki for sale by request to pick up at the fruit stand only.  

At the fruit stand we also have grapefruit, Valencia oranges, lemons, Swiss chard, fresh herbs (oregano, mint, dill, thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, catnip), local honey from bees at the orchard and eggs. Peas and Harmony has organic tomato, pepper, cucumber, zucchini and melon seedlings for sale at the plant stand. 

The next delivery for the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club will be at our orchard from 3:30- 5:00 on Friday, May, 20th. Orders need to be received by Mon., May 16th at 5:00.  Through the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club you can order local naturally grown pork and lamb, grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, eggs and honey.  The Placer County Real Food Cookbook can be ordered and delivered through the Meat Buyers Club, too.  Monthly deliveries are at our orchard in Granite Bay, at Community Ink in Truckee and at Confluence Kitchen in Auburn.

Blossoming and Rain

Trees are still blossoming, even though we've been getting a lot of rain the past few weeks.  

If you look closely in the photo at the left, or click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see a bee visiting cherry blossoms at the orchard.   

Lately we've been digging holes to plant new trees and finishing up pruning and raking brush.  We've also been planting and watering  vegetable seedlings growing in our small greenhouse.  We hope to be able to plant seedlings in the gardens during the first few weeks of April.  We started some ourselves, and we're also ordering some seedlings from Peas and Harmony.

The chickens have been enjoying roaming around in the orchard every day.  We're not sure if they can still be free-ranging after we plant the gardens, though.  Maybe we'll have to just find a way to block them from the garden beds while the plants are still small.

Bees in the Bee Balm

Here is a short video clip of bee activity in a blooming stand of lavender bee balm in my garden. The bee balm has been really busy with bees and butterflies since it bloomed a week or so ago. Watch closely and you can see big bumblebees and smaller honey bees visiting the blossoms. At the end of the clip you can hear our rooster Ozzie crowing.

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.

Ume Blossoms

If you are out at the Orchard in the next couple of days, ask to smell the Ume tree. This Japanese Plum is always the first tree to bloom in the spring and is quickly discovered by bees. If you go up to the tree and smell its blossoms you can just imagine how enticing its gentle sweetness must be to bees emerging from a winter of short rations.

Bees, the Orchard & What's in the Fruit Stand

We heard from Anatoli, (one of the people who keep bees at the orchard) that when he went to check his hives last week he found over half the bees dead. He isn't sure what happened, but thought that it was very strange that so many of them would suddenly die.

In the photo above you can see how the orchard looks right now. The lack of leaves and blossoms makes it possible to see almost from one end of the orchard to the other. In the foreground of the photo are a few bee hives that are tended to by Hoshan, another bee keeper. The bee hives found with so many dead bees are at the end of the orchard by the pond and eucalyptus grove.

Here's what's at the fruit stand now:

• Fresh Persimmons--Hachiya , gyombo (soft)
  
• Dried Persimmons (Hoshigaki)--strips only
  
• Oranges--Nodahara's Navel variety, (very large)
  
• Lemons--Meyer, Eureka
  
• Kiwi
  
• Vegetables--Jerusalem artichoke
  
• Gourds--for decorations and crafting