DIRT TOMATOES

"Do you have dirt tomatoes?" the customer asked.
"What do you mean?" I responded.
"Dirt, you know, are the tomatoes grown in the ground as opposed to hydroponically."
"Now a days, that's a very good question" I said.  "Yes, all our tomatoes are grown in the ground, under the sun, in actual dirt." We have no hothouse, greenhouse or hoop house.  We use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides on our tomatoes.  You might say we have "Old fashion" tomatoes. They seem to be enjoying this hot weather more than we are.  They have just the right texture and mouth watering taste. They are firm and juicy.  Now is the time for tomato sandwiches, BLT, and gazpacho. You can find my mother's gazpacho recipe on last years post of 7/28/2017.
       Finally, if not for a short time, there are peaches in the farm stand. We are harvesting yellow peaches including Fay Elberta. However, the bounty of years past seems to be lacking. To add to our supply of peaches, Sunnyslope Farm is bringing us big beautiful and juicy yellow peaches.
      We continue to have several plum varieties and Asian pears are starting to show up. We still have wild blackberries which normally disappear by the beginning of August.

Official Statement: We have NO pick-your-own activities.
 May to January Hours:
Tu to Sat:   10 am to 6 pm
Sun:            10 am to 5 pm
Closed on Mondays

Here's what we have in the farm stand from Otow Orchard:
Yellow Freestone Peaches:  Suncrest, 49er, Gene Elberta, Fay Elberta
Cling Peaches:  Bowen
Plums:  Santa Rosa, Frontier, Satsuma, Burgundy, Eldorado, Laroda, Red Ace,
             Red Roy, Kelsey, Late Santa Rosa
Wild Blackberries
Hoshigaki (dried persimmons) No longer available though Mail Order.
Herbs:  basil, rosemary, mint
Calendula Salve
Honey from Otow Orchard
Vegetables: Zucchini, Yellow squash, Asian cucumbers, Lemon cucumbers, Okra, Japanese eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, Tomatoes, Sungold cherry tomatoes, Tomatillos

This is what we have from other producers:
Yellow peaches from Sunnyslope Farm:  Suncrest, Elegant Lady, Zee Lady
Jams from The Good Stuff
Onions and Potatoes from BarleyOats Farm
Eggs from Two Feather Farm

GAZPACHO

Every summer about this time of the year, my mother would surprise us with a big bowl of her fresh and fragrant gazpacho soup. At the farm we always had a supply of tomato seconds to use in some creative way.  My mother would cut out the bad parts and stew the tomatoes till they were soft and the juice came out.  Then she cooled and strained them and collected the juice.  She used this thin flavorful juice as a base for gazpacho.  At the orchard we now have a good supply of tomatoes, tomato seconds, tender crisp cucumbers, sweet peppers, fresh basil, oregano and heads of garlic.  For my batch of gazpacho I was lucky enough to still have a sweet red onion from Lisa Pilz at Hillcrest Orchard farmer's market stand. I sliced the onion and soaked it in cold water for five minutes to remove the heat.  It added a nice flavor to the mix.  I know there are many recipes for gazpacho but here is ours.

5  med.  tomatoes, peeled,seeded and chopped
3  med. cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
           (our Asian cucumbers are seedless)
2  sweet peppers seeded and chopped
1/2  cup sliced sweet red onions
1/8   cup minced parsley, or oregano
1/4   cup minced fresh basil
3    cups tomato juice
1/2 cup olive oil
3  Tblsp. red wine vinegar
2   cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1/2  tsp hot pepper sauce if desired

Prepare tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions as directed.  Mash the garlic with salt then stir into vegetables. Add remainder of the ingredients and mix together.  Refrigerate covered at least 2 hours or overnight.

Taste and adjust seasoning.  Serve cold.

What is available in the farm stand:
Tomatoes:  Slicing, Heirloom, salad, Roma, cherry tomatoes and tomato seconds
Cucumbers:  Asian, lemon, Armenian
Other Veggies:  Okra, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, shallots, garlic, basil. and Rosemary
Peaches:  Yellow, white, and cling
Plums:  Laroda, Eldorado
Pluots:  Dapple Dandy, Flavorking
Apples:  Gala
Honey, Jams and salve
Sunnyslope Farm is bringing us yellow peaches:  Elegant Lady, Suncrest,  and pluots: Candy Stripe