PERSIMMON TIME

    Fuyu persimmons and Hachiya  persimmons are the stars of the season.  Fuyu are the always sweet persimmon variety.  When eaten firm they have a crunch like an apple.  The fruit is now getting larger and sweeter and the color is deepening to orange. Mostly they are eaten out of hand or sliced.  Sometimes they are added to salads. The other popular variety is Hachiya.  This one remains astringent until very soft, like pudding.  It can be sliced or eaten out of hand. People enjoy the moist, soft texture of this sweet juicy fruit. Perhaps this is why it is sometimes referred to as the "Fruit of the Gods".

    We are currently harvesting several varieties of brown fleshed persimmons. These persimmons are pollination dependent.  That means that when the flowers were blooming in April, bees did or did not successfully pollinate them.  If pollinated, seeds formed.  Those seeds influence the flesh to turn brown and sweet.  If there are three or fewer seeds, the flesh will only be partially brown.  It is advised to cut the fruit before eating, then eat the brown portion to avoid eating the astringent, orange flesh. There are Maru, Nagamaru, Chocolate, Tsurunoko, and Hyakume varieties in the farm stand at this time.

    Some of the Hyakume persimmons will be treated with Vodka to make them sweet.  Those should be available soon.  We call them Vodka persimmons.

    We have begun to peel and dry the hoshigaki (Japanese dried persimmons).  We use mainly the Hachiya persimmon for drying.  The warm weather makes them dry a little too fast.  We can put them indoors to slow the process and hope to get a more tender product.

    There is a good supply of yellow quince available.  Quince is an ancient fruit valued for its flavor, fragrance and high pectin content.  It is very seldom consumed raw because it is hard, sour and astringent.  When cooked, a sweetener is added along with spices.  Due to its high pectin content it is great for making jelly, jam, paste, sauce, and dulce de membrillo candy.

    Slowly pomegranates are making their way to the farm stand.  The early ones are white.  The arils are sweet and pink with a small core. These will be followed by pink pomegranates and the tart red pomegranates.

    Summer gardens are very tired.  We get very little harvest at this time.  However, WoodRose Country Garden is bring us sweet peppers and fragrant, spicy arugula.

    It's been a few years since we have had a harvest-able crop of olives with minimal olive fruit fly damage.  This year might be the year. Almost every year the olive fruit fly visits the developing olive and deposits an egg in the olive.  About the time the olive is getting ready for harvest the egg hatches and the olive fruit fly larvae begins to eat the flesh of the olive.  This ruins the olive for many people.  But I know one customer who says he just turns off the lights when he eats the olives.  It's a wait and see situation.  If the olives remain clean we will sell raw Manzanillo and Mission olives.  To learn how to cure olives it is best to visit several web sites to get advice.

 

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.

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.  Fuyu can also be sliced or added to salads.  As we go through the season they get bigger and sweeter and the skin goes from yellow to orange.

     Maru:  Sweet, round, brown fleshed persimmon. Can be eaten hard and crunchy or when it is softer and sweeter. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

    Nagamaru, Tsurunoko, Chocolate:  Three names.  Sweet, dark brown fleshed persimmon.  It is orange skinned and a tall oblong shape.  Can be enjoyed hard or more soft.  Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. Whether pollinated or not, Nagamaru will be sweet when soft. 

    Hyakume:  This persimmon is often referred to  as cinnamon due to its light coloration and speckles  in the flesh.  Tasty with nice sweet flavor.   Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝.  The Hyakume that we suspect are more astringent are treated with vodka to make them sweet. 😋

Pomegranates:

    White Pomegranates:  Light skinned with pink arils.  Sweet with small core.

    Ambrosia Pomegranates: Pink skinned with pink arils.  Sweet tart arils. (Limited supply.)

Apples:

    Granny Smith:  Light green skin over white flesh.  Sweet, tart, and crisp.  Great for cooking and baking.  It retains its shape.  Also enjoyed eaten out of hand. 

    Fuji: Popular apple known for being sweet and crisp. Our Fuji apples range from green and yellow to red and yellow.

    Reinette Simerenko:  Crisp green apple. Pleasing sweet tart flavor and fragrance.  

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

        Shinko:  Firm, sweet and crisp pear.  Brown skin with outstanding flavor and floral fragrance. Eat out of hand or slice and add to salads.  Good for storage.

         Yali:  Pear-shaped, firm Asian pear.  Smooth-skinned with fine sweet-tart flavor similar to anise and spice. Very juicy and fragrant. Attractive delicate appearance. 

        Olympic:  Large, sweet, brown pear. Flesh is dense and has a crunch.

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.

Pears:  Comice pears are full of sweet, juicy flesh.

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. The hoshigaki is currently not available.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  For mail orders, click on the Hoshigaki/Persimmons tab at the top of this blog post to get the mail order form.

Winter Squash: 

     Kaboch:   This winter squash is a popular Japanese pumpkin. It has a hard dark green skin with a thick deep yellow or orange flesh.  Sweet and nutty flavor.  Great for steaming, roasting, baking, stuffing and adding to soup and stews. 

     

         Butternut:   One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.  

    Acorn: Green or orange skin with longitudinal ridges.  It has sweet yellow orange flesh inside.

Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, Buena Mulata. 

    Tomatillos: Look like a green tomato in a papery husk.  Often used in salsa, sauces and soups. Can be sliced into salads.

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

⚘ 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, conventional farming:

    Mutsu apples:  Green skinned, sweet tart apples. Used for fresh eating and cooking.

    Fuji apples:  Sweet, crisp and juicy.

WoodRose Country Garden
 in Granite Bay, organic practices:

        Arugula: spicy aromatic greens (Limited supply.)

        Sweet peppers:  Green, orange and purple skinned.

        Basil:  (Limited supply.)

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

 

PERSIMMONS ARE ARRIVING

 We were gone for just a week to NY and PA.  When we returned the season had changed.  Not one peach, plum or Plout in sight.  

Persimmons are starting to come into the farm stand.  The earliest ones ones are the brown fleshed ones: Coffee Cake, Nagamaru, Chocolate, and Maru.  As you may recall these brown fleshed persimmons need to be pollinated in order to be sweet.  When pollinated, seeds will form and influence the flesh to turn brown and become sweet.  Sometimes the fruit is not fully pollinated and a portion of the fruit will remain astringent.  The shape sometimes offers clues but often we are just guessing.  There are also a few small light colored Fuyu persimmons on the display table.  These are very crisp and will get sweeter and more orange with time. We are also getting a few early Hachiya persimmons.  These are the ones that cannot be enjoyed until soft and gooey.  Hachiya are also the ones used to make hoshigaki.  Although the Hachiya are not sweet and soft yet, customers are encouraged to buy now and ripen at home.  It may take a couple of weeks.

Hoshigaki is on our minds but it is too early to start the process.  I am busy cleaning out the rooms and dusting off the racks we use to process hoshigaki.  Hopefully the 2024 order form will be on the web site in a couple of weeks.  

The Fall issue of California Bountiful magazine featured a story on hoshigaki at Otow Orchard.  Check it out.  https://www.californiabountiful.com/magazine-features/magazine-issues/fall-2024/the-art-of-hoshigaki/

 

It's been a few years since we had a harvest-able crop of olives with minimal olive fruit fly damage.  This year might be the year. Almost every year the olive fruit fly visits the developing olive and deposits an egg in the olive.  About the time the olive is getting ready for harvest the egg hatches and the olive fruit fly larvae begins to eat the flesh of the olive.  This ruins the olive for many people.  But I know one customer who says he just turns off the lights when he eats the olives.  It's a wait and see situation.  If the olives remain clean we will sell raw Manzanillo and Mission olives.  To learn how to cure olives it is best to visit several web sites to get advice.

 

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.

The line up: Hachiya, Coffee Cake, Hyakume, Nagamaru, sliced Maru and Maru, Fuyu.

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:  It's early in the season for these popular persimmons.  They have not yet developed their dark orange skin.  The yellowish ones are sweet and crisp. They are always sweet and usually eaten hard like an apple.  As the season develops Fuyu will get more orange, sweeter and juicier.

      Coffee Cake, Nishimura Wase:  These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

    Maru:  Sweet, round, brown fleshed persimmon. Can be eaten hard and crunchy or when it is softer and sweeter. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

    Nagamaru, Tsurunoko, Chocolate:  Three names.  Sweet, dark brown fleshed persimmon.  It is orange skinned and a tall oblong shape.  Can be enjoyed hard or more soft.  Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. Whether pollinated or not, Nagamaru will be sweet when soft.

Grapes: 

        Thompson Seedless :  Small, yellow, seedless grapes.  Crisp and very sweet.

Jujube:  Also called Chinese dates and natsume.  They are a small, oval shaped drupe with a date like seed. Enjoyed when crisp green to brown and even wrinkled and chewy. They are sweet with apple-like texture but not as juicy as apples.

Pomegranates:

White Pomegranates:  Light skinned with pink arils.  Sweet with small core.

Ambrosia Pomegranates: Pink skinned with pink arils.  Sweet tart arils.

Apples: 

    Red Delicious:  Sweet mild flavor. Popular for its red color.  Unfortunately, due to the high heat, most of our Red Delicious apples are striped red this year.  Nonetheless they are sweet, tender and crisp.  Usually eaten out of hand or cooked. (Limited supply.)

    Golden Delicious:  Sweet mild flavor with yellowish skin. Great for cooking, adding to salads and fresh eating. (Limited supply.)

    Granny Smith:  Light green skin over white flesh.  Sweet, tart, and crisp.  Great for cooking and baking.  It retains its shape.  Also enjoyed eaten out of hand. 

    Fuji: Popular apple known for being sweet and crisp. Our Fuji apples range from green and yellow to red and yellow.

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

        Shinko:  Firm, sweet and crisp pear.  Brown skin with outstanding flavor and floral fragrance. Eat out of hand or slice and add to salads.  Good for storage.

       

        20th Century:  Firm, thin skinned yellow Asian pear. Very popular for its refreshing juice and light crisp texture. It has a mild flavor and keeps well. Eat out of hand or add to salad. (Limited supply.)

         Yali:  Pear-shaped, firm Asian pear.  Smooth-skinned with fine sweet-tart flavor similar to anise and spice. Very juicy and fragrant. Attractive delicate appearance. 

        Olympic:  Large, sweet, brown pear. Heavy and dense.

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.

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. The hoshigaki is available in the farm stand. You may drop in for on farm pick up.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  Mail orders may restart when the weather cools.

Winter Squash: 

     Kaboch:   This winter squash is a popular Japanese pumpkin. It has a hard dark green skin with a thick deep yellow or orange flesh.  Sweet and nutty flavor.  Great for steaming, roasting, baking, stuffing and adding to soup and stews. 

        

         Butternut:   One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.  

    Acorn: Green or orange skin with longitudinal ridges.  It has sweet yellow orange flesh inside.   

Japanese cucumbers:  Seedless and tender. So crisp and refreshing as  a snack on a warm summer day.We love the flavor of these cucumbers and are always sad when they are gone.  (Limited supply.)

Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, Buena Mulata. 

Sweet peppers: Green, orange, and purple sweet peppers. (Limited supply.)

Japanese eggplant:  Limited Supply

Basil:  Fresh from our garden.

Blue Lake green beans: Crisp, stringless green beans with mild flavor.  Great for fresh eating, freezing and cooking. (Limited supply.)

Long beans: Tender green beans that happen to be 6" to 15" long. Cut to your desired length.  Uses as any other green bean.  Great seasoned with sesame oil. (Limited supply.)

Red or Green Shiso leaves:  Beefsteak herb. Japaneses aromatic herb used in salads, soups and on noodles. Can be paired with sashimi. Red shiso is used in preparing umeboshi.

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

⚘ 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, conventional farming:

    Mutsu apples:  Green skinned, sweet tart apples. Used for fresh eating and cooking.

    Fuji apples:  Sweet, crisp and juicy.

WoodRose Country Garden
 in Granite Bay, organic practices:

        Arugula: spicy aromatic greens (Limited supply.)

        Basil:  (Limited supply.) 

       

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

 

TIME FOR JUJUBE

 Somehow summer is slipping away.  The trees know this and they are getting ready to switch gears from summer to fall.  Our stone fruit harvest is dwindling with fewer and fewer peaches and plums to display.  Coming in are a few  pears, Asian pears, jujube and grapes.

The jujube trees are loaded.  We will be harvesting all of them in the next 2 to 3 weeks.  Sugar Cane, the small, shiny, round variety, is about finished.  We are beginning to harvest the Li variety.  Li is a large (about 1 inch diameter) oblong jujube .  Like other jujube it has the texture of an apple but not as juicy.  It is sweet and crisp when  firm and as  it wrinkles and gets older it becomes sweeter and more chewy.  The internet suggests that jujube are good for many health conditions.  Often thought of as helpful for anxiety and insomnia as well as improving digestion and general health.

The O'Henry peaches and Rio Oso Gem peaches came and went so fast.  The last 3 varieties are not be as promising as earlier ones.  We are starting Summerset peaches and soon there will be a few Fairtime and Late Alamar peaches.  Sunnyslope Farm is bringing us  Trazee freestone peaches.  Large, sweet and juicy. 

We have offered our customers a large array of plum choices this year.  Still on our table are Laroda, Elephant Heart, Late Santa Rosa, Eldordo, and Casselman.  Elephant Heart plums are sweet with red flesh.  The others are sweet with yellow flesh.

The Asian pear harvest is starting.  There are a few brown skinned pears:  Hosui, Shinko, and Yoi.  The 20th Century yellow pear is also available.  All are crisp, juicy, and sweet. Great for snacks and lunches. 

We have stored away the bartlett pears in the cool room to encourage even  ripening.  We will soon bring them out for the display.

 Fig production is slowing.  We are harvesting Panache figs. These figs are so sweet and moist. They usually sell out within a day.  The other figs, Brown Turkey and Black Mission are trickling in, not many of these varieties left.

The first persimmons are getting ready.  A walk through the orchard reveals green persimmons taking on a muted orange color.  We have a few Coffee Cake (Nishimura Wase) persimmons in the farm stand.  These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝.  

Winter squash is making its debut.  There are delicata, kabocha and butternut squashes.  Time for roasting, baking, steaming, microwaving and making soups and stews.

*Please note:  The farm stand will have shortened hours at the end of September.                        

                                          Thurs Sept 26:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Friday Sept 27:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Sat Sept 28:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Sun Sept 29:   11am to 4 pm

                                           Mon Sept 30:  Closed

                                           Tues Oct 1:    10 am to 2 pm

                                            Wed Oct 2:  Resume regular hours

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

Plums: 

Laroda:  Dark skin with yellow flesh.  Sweet and juicy with mild tartness.  Good flavor.

Elephant Heart:  Mottled skin with red flesh. Juicy and sweet.

Late Santa Rosa:  LSR. Yellow flesh, sweet/tart, crisp plum variety. Santa Rosa in name only so I call it LSR. Enjoyable. 

Casselman:  Yellow flesh, sweet/tart, crisp plum variety with great flavor and texture.

Eldorado:  Small and sweet.  These small plums are sweet when hard or soft.  Dark skin over golden flesh. Freestone.

 Peaches:

      Summerset:  Sweet/tart yellow freestone peach.  Small in size and firm in texture.  One of the last varieties of the season.

       Soon to be harvested: Fairtime and Late Alamar yellow freestones.

Figs:  Black Mission: Sweet, with firm, dark skin.  (Limited supply.)

          Brown Turkey:  Juicy and sweet with green and brown skin. Flavor has melon undertones. (Limited supply.)

          Panache: Also called Tiger Stripe.  Skin is dull green with some striping.  Reddish flesh is juicy and sweet with a berry background. (Limited supply.)

Grapes: 

        Kyoho grapes are dark skinned, seeded grapes with intense flavor.

        Thompson Seedless :  Small, yellow, seedless grapes.  Crisp and very sweet.

Jujube:  Also called Chinese dates and natsume.  They are a small, oval shaped drupe with a date like seed. Enjoyed when crisp green to brown and even wrinkled and chewy. They are sweet with apple-like texture but not as juicy as apples.

Apples:  There are a few Gala apples appearing on our table. Sweet apples with a crunch. Attractive yellow red skin.

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

        Shinko:  Firm, sweet and crisp pear.  Brown skin with outstanding flavor and floral fragrance. Eat out of hand or slice and add to salads.  Good for storage.

         Yoi:  Firm, sweet, light brown-skinned Asian pear with a background of butterscotch.  Enjoy when crisp. Not recommended for storage.

        20th Century:  Firm, thin skinned yellow Asian pear. Very popular for its refreshing juice and light crisp texture. It has a mild flavor and keeps well. Eat out of hand or add to salad.

         Yali:  Pear-shaped, firm Asian pear.  Smooth-skinned with fine sweet-tart flavor similar to anise and spice. Very juicy and fragrant. Attractive delicate appearance.

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. The hoshigaki is available in the farm stand. You may drop in for on farm pick up.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  Mail orders may restart when the weather cools.

Persimmon: 

  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp.

      Coffee Cake, Nishimura Wase:  These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

Summer Squash:  Limited supply.

Winter Squash: 

     Kaboch:   This winter squash is a popular Japanese pumpkin. It has a hard dark green skin with a thick deep yellow or orange flesh.  Sweet and nutty flavor.  Great for steaming, roasting, baking, stuffing and adding to soup and stews. 

          Delicata: This is a cylindrical green or orange striped squash.  It  has sweet, creamy flesh and edible skin.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked, microwaved, sauteed or stuffed.  The seeds are edible when toasted.

         Butternut:   One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.        

Japanese cucumbers:  Seedless and tender. So crisp and refreshing as  a snack on a warm summer day.We love the flavor of these cucumbers and are always sad when they are gone.  

Tomatoes:  Red, yellow, golden and striped. (limited supply)

Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, Buena Mulata. 

Sweet peppers: Green, orange, and purple sweet peppers. (Limited supply.)

Japanese eggplant:  Limited Supply

Okra:  Okra loves the heat of the summer. Green tender pods.

Basil:  Fresh from our garden.

Blue Lake green beans: Crisp, stringless green beans with mild flavor.  Great for fresh eating, freezing and cooking

Long beans: Tender green beans that happen to be 6" to 15" long. Cut to your desired length.  Uses as any other green bean.  Great seasoned with sesame oil.

Red or Green Shiso leaves:  Beefsteak herb. Japaneses aromatic herb used in salads, soups and on noodles. Can be paired with sashimi. Red shiso is used in preparing umeboshi.

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

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:  Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes. (Currently not available. Please call for update.))

Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, conventional practices:

      Trazee peaches:  Yellow freestone peaches.  Sweet and juicy.

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay, organic practices:

        White Onions and Garlic

        Sweet Bell peppers

        Arugula:  Fresh greens with distinctive peppery flavor.  Add to your salad, sandwich, pesto and pizza or cook in stir fry or soups.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices: 

       Red cherry tomatoes. (Limited Supply).

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

 

APPLES, PEARS, AND PERSIMONS

     The persimmon crop seems a bit late this year.  Hachiya, the type that must be soft to be enjoyed, is being harvested now.  Most of them are used for making hoshigaki.  If they are too small or too large we sell them  fresh to our customers.  Most customers want the already soft ones.  I usually tell them that if they don't buy them today, when they come back these will be sold and there will be new hard ones on our table. We recommend leaving the hard hachiya on the counter at room temperature till it is soft and gelatinous.  This may take a week or two.  The internet recommends putting the unripe hachiya into a closed container with an apple or banana which will produce the ethylene gas to hasten ripening.

     Hoshigaki production is in full swing.  We are peeling at least 15 boxes a day, 5 days a week.  We peel, hang them in pairs on string, balance the pairs of persimmons on sticks, put the sticks on racks in the sun.  Then wait for the fruit to begin to ripen on the inside.  When the skin is leather-like and the inside is getting soft, we begin to massage each one.  Every few days we massage the fruit to break up any masses inside.  After massaging we like to bring the hoshigaki indoors.  The fruit is getting sweet and is a tempting treat for the critters.  After 2 to 4 weeks much of the liquid has evaporated and the hoshigaki is becoming a concentrated bag of sweet  persimmon pulp.  Then the magic begins to happen.  Somehow the sugars from the fruit begin to form a dusting of white sugar on the surface.  With a little more drying the sugars coat the surface of the persimmon.  Now we have Hoshigaki.

    Fuyu persimmons are starting to come into the farm stand.  They are more yellow and starting to get that orange glow.  Fuyu are round and usually flattish.  They can be eaten like an apple:  hard, crisp, and sweet.  Great for snacking and adding to salads.  I hope to have a bountiful supply beginning in November.

    The brown fleshed persimmons have been slowly ripening.  A few come in and a few get sold.  Brown fleshed persimmons are astringent unless pollinated.  Back in April when the trees were in bloom, the bees were  buzzing.  If the flower was fully pollinated , seeds would form and give off ethylene gas  to make the flesh brown and sweet.  The problem arises when a flower is only partially pollinated and less than half of the seeds form.  This fruit will be only partially sweet.  It's always a risk.  We recommend cutting the fruit and eating only the brown, sweet flesh.

    Apples and pears are still an important part of our production. We are currently harvesting Reinette Simerenko and Fuji apples.  Later will come Pink Lady and Granny Smith.   Our last European pear is Comice.  When the skin turns yellow it is ready to eat.  It is sweet, soft, and very juicy.  We have several Asian pears:  Shinko, Olympic, and Yali.  They are all crisp, juicy and sweet.  I would say Shinko is the sweetest, Olympic the hardest, and Yali the juiciest.

HOURS:

Tues through Sat  10:00 am to 6 pm 

Sunday  11:00 am to 5:00 pm

CLOSED ON MONDAYS 

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

Hoshigaki:  Currently sold out. 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.  Hoshigaki processed in 2022 have sold out.  We normally begin peeling persimmons in October.  The early hoshigaki may be available in November. You may contact us for on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  For mail orders please use our mail order form . Mail order shipments do not usually begin until December.

Apples: 

        Fuji: Known for being sweet juicy and always crisp.

        Reinete Simerenko:  a green sweet-tart apple with great flavor. I call it a cider apple.

European Pears:

        Comice :  Large, juicy, sweet pear when ripe.  Wait for the skin to turn yellow. Similar to a Bartlet pear.

Asian Pears:  

    Shinko:  Large round pear with brown skin.  Very sweet, crisp, and juicy, a good keeper.

    Olympic: Large, dark brown, round Asian pear.  It has a good crunch and the flavor is intense. It is juicy and very sweet.  Can be used for pies and cobblers.

Persimmons:

    Hachiya:  Tall acorn-shaped persimmon.  It is astringent until soft and jelly-like. It becomes very sweet soft and delicate. Fresh eating right out of its skin or often used for baking cookies and pudding. Used for making hoshigaki.

    Fuyu:  Apple type persimmon. Can be eaten hard and crisp.  These are always sweet and a favorite among our customers and future customers. At this time of year they are hard and crisp.  Later in the season or if held for a period of time they will become more orange-red and the flesh will become tender and sweeter. Used for fresh eating and  in salads.

    Maru, Chocolate, and Nagamaru:  These are the brown fleshed persimmons.  Back in April when the trees were in bloom, the bees were  buzzing.  If the flower was fully pollinated , seeds would form and give off ethylene gas  to make the flesh brown and sweet.  The problem arises when a flower is only partially pollinated and less than half of the seeds form.  This fruit will be only partially sweet.  It's always a risk.  We recommend cutting the fruit and eating only the brown, sweet flesh. Some varieties will sweeten as they soften.

    Jujube:    Jujube are often called Chinese dates, ber, or  when dried  they are called red dates. We harvest when they are yellow and brown.  Gradually they become all brown and eventually shriveled.  They are enjoyed at all these stages. They are sweet and crisp like an apple but not as juicy.  An easy snack but watch out for the seed.  This little round fruit has long been recognized by Chinese medicine as having many health benefits. It contains minerals and antioxidants.  Avoid if on anti-seizure or anti-depressant medications. Limited supply.

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

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

Tomatoes:  Just about finished. The tomatoes are small and not as flavorful as when we had intense heat and long days. This late in the season, sizes and quality are challenged. Limited supply. 

 

Chili Peppers:   Aji Amareto, Buena Mulata, Jalapenos, ---All limited supply.

Tomatillos:   These look like small green tomatoes in a paper shell.  They can be cooked or eaten raw. You can add them to salads or make them into green salsa.

Japanese Eggplant:  These have a long shape with thin skin.  It has tender flesh with delicate flavor and few seeds.

Sweet Peppers: Green, yellow and purple varieties.

Okra: When we pay attention, we harvest tender pods.

Winter Squash:

    Kabocha, Red Kuri, Black Futsu:  Known as a Japanese pumpkins.  These varieties have sweet, thick dry flesh. They can be steamed, baked, roasted, sauteed or added to soups and stews.

    Butternut Squash:    One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  Is can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.  

Quince:  This fruit is firm and seldom eaten raw.  It has a pleasing fragrance which can be preserved by making sauce, jams, jelly, adding it to  apple dishes, and pairing it with pork.  It is a great source for pectin.  Quince must be peeled, cored and cooked to make it softer.  It is famously used to make Quince sauce or Doulce de Membrillo, Quince candy.

Pomegranates:  Sweet White Pomegranates

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden  in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Eggplant, okra, beans, colorful bell peppers, potatoes, garlic and arugula.

    Seasoning:  basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, fresh garlic

    Tomatoes: Tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes.

    Winter squash:  Pink Banana Squash,

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay:   Bees wax 🐝. 

Sunnyslope Farm Conventional practices, Garanite Bay, CA:  Fuji Apples.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. Production is low.  As days get shorter the chickens go through molting. This is the process of loosing old feathers and regrowing new feathers.  During this period, egg laying decreases and chickens concentrate on storing nutrients for the next season.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes

     Kabocha, Japanese winter squash (pumpkin).  Butternut winter squash

Mihara Farm  conventional farming in Newcastle, CA:  Kiwi, Chestnuts, Hachiya persimmons.

Stoney Point Farm, Organic certified, Loomis, CA:  Hachiya persimmons.

Placer County Master Gardeners:   2024 Gardening Guide and Calendar.  Provides helpful hints throughout your gardening year.