SUMMER IS SETTING

The display is full.  It is the time of year when summer meets fall.  There are still peaches, plums, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers.  And now we are adding apples, Asian pears, grapes, Jujube, and figs.  Soon enough there will be European pears, pomegranates, persimmons and quince.

 We have had a gentle summer but this week we will be seeing triple digit temperatures.  I'm having trouble keeping up with the cherry tomatoes.  For one, I  don't much like being out in the hot weather, and two, the heat is encouraging them to ripen quickly. By the time I get out there, many are split or just fall off the vine as I pick adjacent cherry tomatoes.  The squash and cucumbers are slowing down.  Now they produce smaller fruit that take longer to grow to maturity.  I think the vines have worked hard this summer and are getting tired.  I hope you were able to get some tomatoes this summer. It seems that the best are gone.  The production is slowing down and the tomatoes are getting smaller and not so pretty.

Most of the summer fruit trees are empty.  It may appear that this is a non-productive time for them.  In fact, they are preparing next year's crop.  The twigs are developing buds that will produce flowers in the spring and fruit in the summer.  Even though there is no fruit currently on the trees, we continue to water the trees in hopes that the next season will be a good one.

Along with the start of some fall crops, we are starting to prune trees that have finished their production for the year.  Some trees need to be lightly pruned before the wet weather sets in. Trees get less disease when pruned during dry weather.

 

 Hours

    Tues thru 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.

PEACHES  

Summerset:  Yellow, freestone peach. Juicy and sweet for eating out of hand, baking or freezing.  Fine texture.   (Limited supply.)   

Fairtime:  Yellow freestone peach. Red blush over yellow skin. Sweet and juicy. (Limited supply.)

PLUMS

Casselman:  Yellow fleshed plum.  Very sweet and flavorful.  Becomes more sweet and juicy when stored.    

Empress:  Yellow flesh European plum. Often used for baking. (Limited supply.)

FIGS

Brown Turkey:  Brown speckled skin with sweet, pink flesh. Mild sweetness with thoughts of honey.

Black Mission:  Black skin with tan, caramel flavored flesh. Sweet and chewy.

Panache (Tiger Stripe):  Greenish brown striped skin.  Very sweet, pink flesh .

JUJUBE

Li jujube:   Large sweet and crisp or soft and chewy. 

Sugar Cane:  Small and very sweet and crisp. 

      

 

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.  A limited supply of Hoshigaki are now available in the farm stand.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com. We usually begin processing the new season hoshigaki in October.

Hoshigaki strips:  These are pieces of hoshigaki sliced for easy snacking.

 

Gala Apples:  Sweet, crisp apple.  Red blush on skin over light yellow skin.   Great for snacking.

GRAPES 

Thompson Seedless:  Small, sweet, yellow grapes.

Kyoho:  Large, sweet, purple grapes with seeds. Flavorful and juicy. 

ASIAN PEARS  

20th Century:  Yellow skin. White, crisp flesh.  Sweet and very juicy.

New Century:  Yellow skin. White, sweet, crisp flesh. 

Kosui:  Yellow skin. White, crunchy flesh. Sweet. 

Hosui:  Brown rough skin. Very Sweet with crunchy flesh. 

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

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

Summer Squash:

Green and Yellow Zucchini.

Yellow crookneck  

Cucumbers:

Armenian:  Light and dark green in color.  Young cucumbers have few seeds.  Background flavor of melon. 

Asian cucumbers:  Bumpy or spiny. Long green seedless cucumbers. Sweet, flavorful and often burpless. Melon rind-like flavor.

Lemon cucumber:  Small, round, green, tender cucumber unless I wait too long to pick it and it becomes yellow and seedy.

Tomatoes:  Red tomatoes for slicing and adding to salad. (Limited supply.)

Cherry tomatoes:                            

Sungold (orange)

Sweetie (red)

Suncherry (red) 

Other Vegetables: (Limited supply.)

Japanese eggplant

Bell peppers 

Shishito peppers 

Aoshiso leaves 

Here is what we have from other producers:

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

Fresh Bouquets: of colorful in-season flowers from La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis. (Limited supply.)

 

Lupi Farms in Granite Bay. No spray practice:  

Black Mission Figs:  Dark skin over rich, sweet, jammy flesh.  

Thompson Seedless:  Small, yellow, sweet seedless grapes.

Dark grapes:  Unknown name.  Small, purple, sweet, seedless grapes. 

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay. Conventional practices.

Tra-Zee:  Yellow Freestone Peach.  Reddish skin over yellow. Late season sweet peach.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  No spray practice:

Butternut Squash:  Sweet nutty winter squash. Orange flesh is concentrated in the neck of this squash. 

PEACHES, APPLES, AND FIGS

 At the moment we are going strong with Fay Elberta peaches.  When that moment is gone we will have a small crop of O'Henry and Summerset peaches to harvest and then the peach trees will be empty till next June (2026).    

The apple harvest is now starting.  We have Gravenstein and Gala apples. The Gravenstein are an old variety with unique fragrance and tartness.  It is used for sauce and cider or a good sour apple crunch. Gala have a red blush over light yellow skin.  They are a sweet crisp apple great for snacking.

It seems I have been waiting a long time for the second crop of figs to get ready.  Slowly they are starting to come into the farm stand.  We will get a boost from Lupi Farm in Granite Bay that will be bringing us Black Mission figs this week. 

The vegetable garden is at its peak. We are getting tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beans, peppers and eggplants.  The days are getting shorter and the veggies seem to know.  When I harvest the cucumbers, squash and tomatoes, I can tell that my boxes are lighter than they were last week.

We have an opening at our farm for a worker who  can work in and around the farm stand part time 2 to 4 days per week. Hours will increase as we get into persimmon season.

 

HELP WANTED

Job Posting: Farm Stand worker.  10 to 30 hours per week (hours vary by the season).  $16.50 to $17.50 per hour.

Otow Orchard, 6232 Eureka Rd. Granite Bay

Otow Orchard is a direct-to-consumer farm market. Personal contact with and respect for customers is important to building our business and our community. Produce is grown without sprays or chemical fertilizers. Harvest occurs when produce is mature and at its peak. We support local feeding programs and area farms.  The pay is not great but the experience is rewarding.

We are looking for an honest, reliable, hardworking, self-directed individual who has an interest in growing good food. This is an opportunity to work day to day on a farm and learn about our crops and methods.  Pay is not great but the experience can be enriching.

Job Title: Farm stand and produce associate

Job description:

Assist in farm stand marketing and sales.

Cleaning, inspecting, and restocking the display.

Maintain and clean the fruit stand area and farm yard.

Sorting produce for quality and distribution.

Harvest, irrigate and help maintain vegetable garden.

Build positive relationships with customers and coworkers.

Assignments may require use of hand tools and power tools.

Seasonally and with experience, the job description will change as needed.

Responsibilities:

Work safely and ask for help when needed.

Follow heat stress and food safety guidelines.

Be observant and report or take care of things that are out of line.

Clean up and put away tools and equipment.

Make good use of time.

Requirements:

Reliable transportation.

Be able to safely lift 40 pounds.

Work during extremes of weather: hot, cold, wet, dry.

Dependable attendance.

Good math basics.

Good communication skills (listening and speaking).

Please submit resume and inquiries in person or through email: otoworchard@yahoo.com

Request job history and references. 

 

 

 

 

 Hours

    Tues thru 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.

PEACHES  

Fay Elberta:  Yellow, freestone peach. Juicy and sweet for eating out of hand or baking and canning.  Known for its melting texture.

Opale:  White freestone peach.  Low acid, sweet and juicy. 

Paradise:   White freestone peach.  Low acid, sweet and juicy. 

PLUMS

Eldorado:  Yellow fleshed plum.  Often eaten hard and crisp.  Very sweet. 

Laroda:  Yellow fleshed plum.  Sweet/tart and juicy.  Pleasant flavor.

Kelsey:  Green skin over yellow flesh.  Firm to soft. Always sweet and juicy. 

LSR:  Yellow flesh sweet tart plum.   

FIGS

Brown Turkey:  Brown speckled skin with sweet, pink flesh. Mild sweetness with thoughts of honey.

Black Mission:  Black skin with tan, caramel flavored flesh. Sweet and chewy.

Panache (Tiger Stripe):  Greenish brown striped skin.  Very sweet, pink 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.  Hoshigaki are now available in the farm stand.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com. 

Hoshigaki strips:  These are piec
es of hoshigaki sliced for easy snacking.

Gravenstein Apples: Tart and flavorful apple. Often used for sauce or in cider. (limited supply.)

Gala Apples:  Sweet, crisp apple.  Red blush on skin over light yellow skin.   Great for snacking.

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

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

Summer Squash:

Green and Yellow Zucchini.

Yellow crookneck  

Cucumbers:

Armenian:  Light and dark green in color.  Young cucumbers have few seeds.  Background flavor of melon. 

Asian cucumbers:  Bumpy or spiny. Long green seedless cucumbers. Sweet, flavorful and often burpless. Melon rind-like flavor.

Lemon cucumber:  Small, round, green, tender cucumber unless I wait too long to pick it and it becomes yellow and seedy.

Tomatoes:  Red tomatoes for slicing and adding to salad.

Cherry tomatoes:                            

Sungold (orange)

Sweetie (red)

Suncherry (red) 

Other Vegetables: (Limited supply.)

Japanese eggplant

Bell peppers 

Green beans 

Shishito peppers 

Aoshiso leaves 

Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm: conventionally grown peaches from Granite Bay.

Fay Elberta Peaches:  Very popular variety. Big and beautiful, yellow freestone peaches.  Sweet and Juicy with wonderful flavor and smooth texture. 

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

Fresh Bouquetsi of colorful in-season flowers from La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis. 

 

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay. No spray practice:  

Black Mission Figs:  Dark skin over rich, sweet, jammy flesh.  

 

Nest of baby birds in the tomato vine.