Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Hoshigaki Mail Order and What's at the Fruit Stand


We now have lots of hoshigaki (massage-dried persimmons) for sale at the orchard's fruit stand and available for sale through mail order. If you want to make an mail order for hoshigaki or fresh fruit, please print out our order form (under the hoshigaki/persimmons tab), fill it out, and mail it to us with your check. We're still taking mail orders, but since we are very busy it may take up to a few weeks for you to receive your order.

What's at the Fruit Stand:

  • Hoshigaki (dried persimmons)--various grades for sale at a range of prices per pound
  • Fresh Persimmons--Hachiya (soft and hard), Fuyu, Maru and vodka-treated Hyakume
  • Apples--Koyama's Granny Smith
  • Mandarins--Nodahara's satsuma
  • Quince
  • Pomegranate--Red
  • Walnuts & Pecans
  • Vegetables--Peppers (hot and sweet), Swiss Chard, basil
  • Gourds--for decorations and crafting
Peas and Harmony also has organic winter vegetable seedlings for sale at the fruit stand. They also have a demonstration garden located at the orchard, where you can see some of the plants growing.

In the photo above is Toshio showing some visiting Boy Scouts how to hang a peeled persimmon for drying.

See the orchard on PBS's "California Heartland"



This Thursday, on Thanksgiving day, our local PBS television station KVIE will show an episode of "California Heartland" featuring Otow Orchard. It will air at 4:00 PM. You can see a clip of the show on California Heartland's website, or by clicking here. The program is being shown at various times throughout California this week.

At left is a photo of kids playing in the hay maze.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

What's New at the Orchard


Mail Orders--

We have started mailing out some hoshigaki orders and fresh persimmon orders. We are still taking orders for hoshigaki (massage-dried persimmons), fresh hachiya, fuyu, and mandarins. Unfortunately we have run out of maru and vodka-treated hyakume for mail orders. If you are able to come to the fruit stand you can still buy maru and hyakume, but we don't have enough left to fill any new mail orders.

What's in the Fruit Stand Now:

  • Persimmons--Hachiya (firm and soft), fuyu, maru, vodka-treated hyakume, hoshigaki (massage-dried)
  • Pomegranates--red variety
  • Quince
  • Walnuts and Pecans ( in the shell)
  • Olives--cured
  • Gourds---lots of different kinds for decorating and for making crafts
  • Vegetables--Zucchini, Swiss Chard, Basil

As you can see, we no longer have tomatoes listed. If you come to the fruit stand we may have a few left, but almost all of them have cracks and blemishes. The same is true for zucchini, what's left is not at its best. It's time to pull out the old plants and get the gardens ready for next season soon.

The Mountain Manderin Festival happens this weekend near us in Auburn, CA. Our manderins are not yet ready, but other area growers will have theirs at the festival. It takes place at Gold country Fairgrounds in Auburn, from Nov. 21st-23rd. The festival's website is www.mountainmanderinfestival.com.

Above is a photo of a gyombo persimmon, another variety we use for making hoshigaki.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hoshigaki is now at the Fruitstand



We are happy to say that we now have hoshigaki (dried persimmons) at the fruit stand for sale. If you were planning to pick up hoshigaki at our fruit stand, the first of this year's hoshigaki has finished. Please call ahead if you are able, and we'll have your order ready. Our phone number is (916) 791-1656. We hope to start sending out mail orders within the next two weeks.

There are a lot of soft hachiya persimmons at the fruit stand, all ready using for baking or for eating fresh. We still have hard hachiyas too, if you'd like to ripen them at home.

Here's what's at the fruitstand now:

  • Persimmons--Hachiya, Maru, Hyakume (vodka-treated), and Hoshigaki (dried)
  • Asian Pear--Okusankichi (seconds)
  • Pomegranates--white and red varieties
  • Quince
  • Walnuts--in the shell
  • Olives--cured
  • Vegetables--zucchini, hot chiles, garlic, Swiss chard and basil
  • Pumpkins
  • Gourds--lots of different kinds for decorating and crafting
Above are photos of Elias cutting open a pomegranate, and Viviano demonstrating how to eat a pomegranate.

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