TRANSITION

      For the first time in my life, I have no living parent.   Time to transition.  My mother, Helen Otow, passed away August 1, 2022.  So far I have not met anyone who can remember a time when she was not here.  After all she lived 106 years.  Many have met her.  Many wonder how she lived so long.  I'm not sure but I do know she ate 3 good meals a day with chocolate and sweets in between.  She was up and down the back steps 10 to  20 times a day and never got tired of looking for something to actively do.  True, she ate lots of fruits and vegetables, much of it grown on our farm. The farm did not give up spraying till 2006.  You can read her obituary at:   www.dignitymemorial.com      A slide show of her with her Kawano relatives and a few friends will be available for a short time at :  
   https://www.packetsmiter.com/HelenOtow.mp4

       Time for the orchard to also transition.  The peach trees are empty, the plum trees are empty, and the grape vines are empty. Tomatoes are struggling with the heat, then the rain, and now the shorter days.  Our summer vegetables are just barely producing.  But, the farm stand is filling with apples and Asian pears.  We are getting a few jujube and brown fleshed persimmons.  Listed below are the products we currently have.

 

The persimmon crop is light this year.  The freeze in April that affected peach, plum, apricot, and pluot production also froze half the persimmons, apples and pomegranates.   We are starting to get some brown fleshed persimmons.  Fuyu is about 3 weeks away.  We will be drying most of the hachiya persimmons and predict only the small, deformed and ripe hachiya will be for sale in the farm stand. The bigger and better hachiya will be used for our own hoshigaki process.  Hoshigaki production will be very small and sales will be limited.  People wanting fresh hachiya need to scout their neighborhoods for persimmons and find a kind way to ask for them.

REGULAR  SEASON HOURS:

TUESDAY THRU SATURDAY  10:00  TO  6:00

                            SUNDAY      11:00 TO 5:00

CLOSED ON MONDAYS

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

Apples:

           Granny Smith:  🍏Sweet tart, green skinned apple. Retains shape when cooked or baked. Can also be enjoyed fresh.

           Reinette Simerenko : Sweet tart,🍏 green skinned apple. Good flavor reminiscent of a cider apple.

           Fuji:  Green skinned, sweet, crisp apple. Great for fresh eating.

Asian Pears:

           20th Century:  Yellow skinned, fresh, crisp and juicy.  Very refreshing and sweet.

           New Century:  This yellow pear is very sweet, juicy and crisp.  

           Yoi:   Sweet brown Asian pear.

           Shinko:  Sweet brown Asian pear.  Good crunch and juicy.

           Yali:  Pear-shaped 🍐 yellow Asian pear.  It is sweet and crisp.

Jujube:  About the size of a date, this Asian fruit starts off greenish yellow, smooth and crisp with the consistency of apple.  It is low acid and contains a date-like seed. As it matures it becomes sweeter and brown then wrinkled and soft.  It is enjoyed at all stages.

Quince:  An ancient fruit, seldom eaten raw.  Used for jelly and candy. Contains a lot of pectin.  When cooked it becomes pinkish.  Can be stewed to make a sauce that goes great with pork dishes.

Immature persimmons.

Brown Fleshed Persimmons:   Maru, Nagamaru (Chocolate), Coffee Cake (Limited supply).

Hachiya:  frozen persimmon pulp.

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

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm 

Japanese Eggplant:  small tender eggplant. Great for stir-fry or making pickles.  (limited supply)

Tomatoes : 🍅Slicing, Salad, and cherry (limited supply).

Asian cucumbers:  🥒Crisp and flavorful. Seedless and burpless.  Many people are enjoying eating them out of hand.  Just wash and take a bite (limited supply).

Long beans:  long green beans, use like regular green beans. These are tender and cook quickly. (limited supply)

Winter squash:

         Red Kuri:  Deep orange shell with thick, sweet, dry flesh. great for baking, stews, roasting, side dish, or dessert.

         Kabocha:  Green shell with thick, sweet, nutty, dry flesh. Traditional Japanese pumpkin. Often steamed with soy sauce, broth and mirin.

         Delicata:  Yellow and green striped shell.   Unlike other winter squash, delicata have thin skin.  Sweet, delicate flavor, easy to prepare.

         Black Futsu:  The black bumpy shell turns orange when mature.  Sweet flesh with fruity background.  Can be roasted, steamed, baked, fried and even made into pie.

         Butternut:  Pinkish beige shell yields a neck of solid flesh and a small seed cavity. Smooth, sweet flesh can be baked, steamed, or roasted.  Can be added to soup, stir fry, stews.

Hot peppers🌶:

         Buena Mulata hot peppers.

         Jalapenos

         Aji Amarillos:  Peruvian chili peppers

         Shishito:  Japanese chili peppers that may or may not be hot.

         Fish

Tomatillos:  green tomato like vegetable often used in green salsa.

Okra:  Little green slimy vegetable. Great when fried with cornmeal.

 

Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay,Conventionally Grown:  Mutsu Apples:  Green apples with sweet tart flesh. Fresh eating or cooking.  Also called Crispin.

WoodRose Country Gardens in Granite Bay: (organic practices) Red, white and purple potatoes, Sun-dried San Marzano tomatoes, Sweet cherry peppers, 🌶Jalapenos, Serrano, Poblano chilies. Greek oregano 🌿🌿, rosemary, thyme, and basil.  Winter squash:  Spaghetti squash, Butternut squash, Delicata squash.  If you are lucky you might snag one of her melons: Ambrosia or watermelon. 
Short supply of:  🧅,  garlic, summer squash, cucumbers, Armenian cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers.  Slicing tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes (Roma type), cherry tomatoes.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay:(organic practices)  Fresh Swiss chard, kale,and cherry tomatoes on the vine.

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 (limited supply).