Queasy, the Horse

I'm sorry to say that Queasy, the horse died today.  He was Maya's horse who lived at the edge of the orchard. He had lived at the orchard for a lot of years. 

Early Asian Pears and Lots of Tomatoes

Japanese Oxheart, Roma, Sungold, red and black cherry, and Indigo Rose tomatoes

This week we picked some of the first two early varieties of Asian pear, hosui and kosui. More varieties should be ready to pick from now through about November.  These first few varieties of Asian pear were ready a week or so early, like most of the plums and peaches have been.

There are currently 9 varieties of plums available at the fruit stand.  We're  running out of space to display them all, so we can only put out a little bit of each kind.  If you want more of something, feel free to ask us.

Now we have lots of different kinds of tomatoes.  For cherry and small salad tomatoes we have sungold, black cherry, red cherry, Indigo Rose, and Pink Ping Pong. We also have roma type tomatoes, various kinds of regular red tomatoes, and purple, pink, orange and yellow heirlooms.

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

• Peaches--49'er, Suncrest, Fay Elberta,  Gene Elberta, Elberta, Bowen (all yellow freestone varieties); Bowen (yellow cling);  White Lady, Elegant Lady, Babcock, Silver Logan (white freestone varieties)  
• Plums--Kelsey, Elephant Heart, Mariposa, Late Santa Rosa, Black Amber, Laroda, Eldorado, Late Duarte
• Pluots--Dapple Dandy, Flavor Queen, Flavor King
• Valencia Oranges
• Vegetables--Tomatoes (regular, cherry, salad, heirlooms), Zucchini, Summer Squash, Swiss chard, Eggplant (small Japanese and small Italian types), Cucumber (Japanese, Armenian, lemon), peppers (sweet)
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint, green and red shiso, Basil (cut if you ask) 
• Honey--from bees at our orchard 
• Free Range Chicken eggs
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax
• The Art of Real Food Cookbook--by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenney

Suncrest Peach Emergency

We now have too many ripe Suncrest peaches at the fruit stand.  Suncrest peaches are a sweet, juicy yellow heirloom peach that are difficult to find. Although they are very delicious, Suncrest ripen quickly and are fragile.
Since they don't ship well or keep for an extended period of time, they aren't sold in major grocery stores.  We can sell soft and ripe Suncrest at the fruit stand because the peaches are picked into boxes and brought directly to the fruit stand, there's no need for packing and shipping.

Suncrest peaches are now at a reduced price at the fruit stand. Right now we have lots of these flavorful peaches, but we won't for long, since once they're picked they don't keep.

Saving Suncrest peaches and his family farm is the subject of the David Mas Masumoto's book,  Epitaph for a Peach--Four Seasons on My Family Farm.  David Masumoto has written a lot of other good books related to his farm and his family history that are worth reading, too. His latest is a peach cookbook called The Perfect Peach:  Recipes and Stories from the Masumoto Family Farm.
 
Here's what's at the fruit stand now: 

• Peaches--Suncrest, Gene Elberta, 49'er, Delight (all yellow varieties), Arctic White, White Lady, Babcock, Silver Logan (white varieties)  
• Plums--Santa Rosa, Black Amber, Laroda, 
• Pluots--Dapple Dandy, Flavor Queen
• Blackberries--wild from around the orchard 
• Valencia Oranges
• Vegetables--Tomatoes (regular, cherry, heirlooms), Zucchini, Summer Squash, Swiss chard, Eggplant (small Japanese and small Italian types), Cucumber (Japanese, Armenian, lemon), beans (green and Chinese long), peppers (sweet)
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint, Basil (cut if you ask) 
• Honey--from bees at our orchard 
• Free Range Chicken eggs
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax
• The Art of Real Food Cookbook--by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenney

Red Beaut Plum Special

Some of the first summer fruit is now at the fruit stand.  We have a lot of Red Beaut plums, some apricots and loquat and a limited supply of cherries and early peaches.  Until June 1st we'll have trays of Red Beaut plums at a reduced price. 

For citrus fruit we have pink and white grapefruit, Valencia oranges and lemons.  The first zucchini is starting to be picked in the vegetable gardens and we also have Swiss chard and herbs.

Ume (Japanese sour plums) are also for sale at the fruit stand.  If you would like to order a large quantity of ume, please call ahead. 

We still have hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmon)  at the fruit stand and for sale through mail order.  Through mail order we have strips of hoshigaki from our orchard and strips and whole hoshigaki traditionally produced from a farm in Newcastle.  At the fruit stand we also have honey from bees at our orchard and eggs.

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. 

Citrus, Eggs and Greens

Chickens dust-bathing at the edge of my garden

Now is the season for eggs.  This is the time of the year that the chickens are laying the most prolifically. Even our older chickens have been laying an egg every few days.  It's also the end of citrus season and the beginning of herbs and greens.  Out in the gardens the Swiss chard and herbs are growing well in the late spring weather.

In the fruit stand we have grapefruit, lemons, Swiss chard, oregano, mint, hoshigaki, and fresh local free range eggs. You can also still order hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmon) through mail order.

We have been busy in the orchard dealing with irrigation issues, mowing and thinning fruit from the trees. We've been getting the vegetable  gardens ready to plant by turning in compost and setting up watering. Some things like beans, garlic and zucchini are already planted.

New Spring Hoshigaki Mail Order Choices

Close up view of Hoshigaki Strips

We now have hoshigaki strips for sale through mail order.  Previously hoshigaki strips were only available for sale at our fruit stand.  Hoshigaki strips are cut from whole peeled persimmons dried in the traditional style by a native Japanese farmer in Newcastle, CA.  The strips are dusted with natural persimmon sugar. Any seeds have been removed. They're easy to share since they're already cut and are just right for a snack.  

We also have hoshigaki from the Nodahara family of Pleasant Hill Orchard in Newcastle, too.  These are whole hoshigaki (hand dried persimmons) with a soft texture and sweetness and natural fluffy sugar. 

The 2012 season hoshigaki from our orchard available now is not as soft and moist those offered earlier in the season.  We also have 2011 season Otow Orchard hoshigaki for sale through through mail order.  Both of these types of hoshigaki are at a discounted price.  Small amounts of non-premium Otow orchard hoshigaki are still for sale in the fruit stand. 

If you'd like to make an order please send it in as soon as possible.  We hope to finish mail orders in the Spring weeks before the weather gets too hot and the sugar risks melting. 

Blossoming Orchard and Producer's Co-op

Blood orange, Grapefruit, Navel Orange, and lemon on a plum tree.

If you come to the fruit stand, free to go out and take a walk in the orchard. It's very pretty right now with the plum, pluot and apricot trees covered in white fluffy blossoms.  The peaches are just starting to put out  pink flowers, too.  It looks like this year peaches and plums will be blossoming at the same time, so the orchard will soon be full of pink and white flowering trees. 

At the fruit stand we now have grapefruit, navel oranges, blood oranges, Eureka lemons, Asian pear, kiwi and hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon).  Hoshigaki can still be ordered through mail order, too. 

If you order from the Sierra Foothills Producers Co-op by 4:00 on Friday, March 8th, you can pick up your order the next Friday, March 15th at our orchard, or at one of the four other delivery spots.  This month there are new local items offered, such as vegetables and honey.  We're selling hoshigaki, blood oranges and Eureka lemons through the Producers Co-op.

Oranges on Sale

We have juicy and sweet oranges on sale at the fruit stand for $8.00 for a 6 pound bag, or two bags for $12.  Right now we at the fruit stand we also have lots of blood oranges, eureka lemons, yellow grapefruit, kiwi and Asian pear at the fruit stand, along with the very last satsuma mandarins. Blemished fruit for juicing is available, too.

Orchard News & Fruit Stand

Blossoming ume tree in front of the lemon and orange trees

Some of the first trees started blooming in the orchard.  First to bloom are the ume ("oo-meh") trees.  Ume is a small sour Japanese plum that's usually preserved.  The blossoms have a banana-like scent that hangs in the air.  Pluots and early plums have started budding but haven't blossomed yet.  We are finishing pruning persimmon trees and soon will start planting some of the new bare root trees from that we ordered this year.

We've been starting tomatoes and other vegetables by seed in the hot house.  These will be planted out in the gardens in early April.    

At the fruit stand we have mandarins,  navel oranges,  blood oranges, Eureka lemons, Asian pear,  kiwi, butternut squash and hoshigaki. We also have eggs, 100 percent beeswax candles,  and Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny's The Art of Real Food Cookbook .

We're still taking mail orders for hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmons).  You can get to the order form here on our website.

Hoshigaki Still Available

The rooster by a grapefruit tree

We still have hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon) available from our orchard and also from Pleasant Hill Orchard in Newcastle.  Pleasant Hill orchard is a small orchard owned by the Nodahara family.  Pleasant Hill's hoshigaki is very sweet with fluffy sugar formed on the outside. Right now, there are three ways you can get hoshigaki from us.  

The best way to get hoshigaki is to just stop by the fruit stand, if you're able to. At the fruit stand we have Premium and grade A hoshigaki in various sized packages, as well as hoshigaki strips.  Another way is to order hoshigaki through mail order.  You can print out the order form, fill it out and mail it to us with a check.  We have both Otow Orchard hoshigaki and Pleasant Hill hoshigaki for a few dollars less per pound available through mail order.

A third way to get hoshigaki is to make an order through the Sierra Foothills Producer's Cooperative.  The Producers Co-op delivers once a month to five different sites around our area, including at our fruit stand.  Through the Producers Co-op you can also order locally produced meat, cheese, jams, sauces, and honey.  For February delivery, you must make your order online by 4:00 PM Feb. 8th.  Delivery at our orchard is Feb. 15th from 4:00-4:30. 
The other

Ice

In this photo, Viviano is looking at the ice formations made from the sprinklers one morning this past weekend. We had to turn on some of the sprinklers for a few nights to create a layer of ice on the citrus trees.  The coating of ice is supposed to protect the trees themselves from freezing. The branches are insulated by the ice and the temperature is kept a few degrees higher than the surrounding air.