FALL IS PEEKING

 Leaves are still green but fall fruit are beginning to appear.  Pears and apples are starting to come off the trees.  We have a few varieties of grapes coming off the vines.  Summer fruit is barely hanging on.  Just a few peaches and plums to offer.

 Garden veggies are slowing down.  The hot weather stunted tomato formation.  Although we continue to have some tomatoes, we are hoping for a second flush.  Some squash plants up and died but it looks like we will get some production from the late squash planting. Meanwhile, long tendrils of winter squash are reaching toward all corners of the garden. Delicata, Butternut and Kaboch should be ready for harvest in a month if all goes as planned.

 

 

      Hours

Tues through Sat  10:00 to 6:00

Sunday            11:00 to 5:00  

Closed on Monday

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

VEGETABLES:

Tomatoes:  Red slicers and salad tomatoes.  Striped German and Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes.  These fresh, sweet tomatoes are great for salads, sandwiches, and pizza.  The smaller ones and blemished ones I use in stew and soup.  Sometimes I just bite and add salt. (Limited supply.)

 

Sakura Cherry Tomatoes:  Large, sweet, red cherry tomatoes.(Limited supply.)

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes:  Bright yellow orange cherry tomatoes known for their bright fruity flavor. A summertime favorite on our farm. (Limited supply.)

Basil:  Fragrant and flavorful.  Can be used in salads, sauces and pesto. 

Zucchini:  Green and yellow summer squash fresh out of the garden.  Tender green squash with white flesh. Great for sauteing, boiling, steaming, baking, roasting and adding to soup, stew and stir fry.(Limited supply.)

Asian Cucumbers:  Burpless, seedless and thin skinned cucumbers.  Refreshing, crisp, and tender.  Eaten as a summer snack, or added into salad or pickled.  Great flavor.

Can cucumbers have fun?

 

Slicing Cucumbers: Fresh, green cucumbers to add to your summer salads. 

Eggplant: The oval shaped eggplants are Italian varieties.  The long skinny ones are the Asian varieties. The shiny skin is deep purple, purple or purple striped. Flesh is creamy white and tender usually with tiny edible seeds. When cooked the flesh is rich, meaty and takes on cooking flavor. Eggplant are versatile and can be baked, sauteed, grilled or roasted. Popular dished are Eggplant Parmesan, Baba Ganoush or Ratatouille. 

Okra:  Small finger shaped green vegetable.  Mildly flavored with a slimy texture when cut.  Delicious when young ones are eaten raw. Cooked they can be fried or added to soups and stews.  I enjoy slicing them and mixing them with egg and cornmeal. Then I fry them as patties. 

 Chili:

Jalapenos:     Spicy green chiles for adding flavor.

           Shishito:  Spicy or not it is just a guess. Eat them fresh or saute them in olive oil with salt.    

FRUIT:

PEACHES

Fairtime: Flavorful, sweet-tart, yellow freestone peach.  Used for fresh eating, baking, and canning. Best if eaten while firm.(Limited supply.)

Summerset:  Yellow freestone peach.  One  of the last varieties of the season.  Sweet and firm.  Used for fresh eating, baking  and preserving.(Limited supply.)

Late Alamar:  Yellow freestone peach.  Sweet-tart flavor and best if enjoyed while on the firm side. (Limited supply.)

 

PLUMS 

Casselman: Sweet yellow fleshed plum. It has a long shelf life and just gets sweeter and sweeter as it ages.  Not particularly juicy but so tasty and sturdy. Great for snacking and eating out of hand.  

FIGS 

Black Mission: Dark almost black skin.  Red to pink, moist flesh. Sweet nutty and fruity flavor with earthy undertones. (Limited supply.)

Panache:   I call this fig Panache or Tiger Stripe because that is what the nursery sold us many years ago.   It does not exactly fit the descriptions I see online.  Nonetheless, it is a wonderful and popular fig.  Dark green skin with faint striping. Deep pink, moist flesh that is sweet, fruity and honey like.  (Limited supply.)

Brown Turkey:   The skin is greenish yellow to brown.  The pink to light tan flesh has a mild nutty sweet taste with earthy undertones.  Great for fresh eating, drying, adding to salad, or paired with cheese. (Limited supply.)

PEARS: 

Bartlett:  Popular European pear. Yellow skin over off white flesh.  Firm when eaten on the green side, soft, sweet and juicy when skin turns yellow. (Very limited production this year.) 

D'anjou:  European green pear. This pear is usually enjoyed while on the green side  while crisp.  It is sweet and tasty.  Often eaten out of hand, added to salads or  baked.

 Asian Pears: 

 Yoi is brown skinned with off white  flesh.  It is very sweet and crisp with caramel flavor. They can be eaten out  of hand or added to salads.

20th Century (Nijisseki): Mildly sweet yellow Asian pear.    It has a smooth round shape with fine texture. Known for its thirst quenching quality providing juice when eaten.

Hosui:   Large brown skinned Asian pear.  Sweet-tart flavor and crunchy texture make it so desirable.  (Limited supply.)

Yali:  Beautiful pear-shaped yellow Asian pear. These pears are sweet, juicy and have tender flesh. 

 

APPLES: 

Red Delicious:  At Otow Orchard this variety is usually a striped red apple. Nonetheless, it is crisp, juicy, sweet, and refreshing.  Has a welcome fresh off the tree taste. (Limited supply.)  

JUJUBE:  These little fruit are often called red dates or Chinese dates.  Some people prefer to eat them when they are crisp and yellower. Others wait for more brown or all brown skin to appear.  They start out crisp and begin to get sweeter and sweeter.  They are also enjoyed soft, chewy, and wrinkly. When very dry they are often added to soup for add sweetness and flavor. Fresh jujube have the texture of a sweet dry apple.  These are often eaten as an easy snack but watch out for the seed.

 GRAPES:

Thompson Seedless:  Small yellow seedless grapes. Known for being tender with sweet mild flavor.  
 

Hoshigaki :  These are whole dried persimmons.  They are hand massaged while they dry 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.  We are currently selling hoshigaki at the farm stand. For on farm orders of more than 1 pound it is best to email or call us to make a pre order.  

Hoshigaki strips:  Thin slices of hoshigaki for snacking.

Persimmon Pulp: Frozen pulp is available for baking or adding to oatmeal, smoothies, desserts or cereal. Some of our customers look forward to eating it like a popsicle!

 

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.   

Here is what we have from other producers: 

Eggs:  La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis. Fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. (Limited supply.)

Red cherry tomatoes:  Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  Grown by organic practices. 

 Butternut squash:  Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  Grown by organic practices. Sweet, nutty orange fleshed winter squash.    

Roast, bake or mash and add to soup or casseroles.

THE SEASON FOR FIGS

 For the moment, Figs are coming into the farm stand.  The season may not last long so now is the time to try the varieties we  grow.  The most common fig is the Black Mission. There is also a limited supply of Brown Turkey and Panache figs.  When selecting a fig, look for the ones that have started to split and have some give to them.

It may seem early for apples but they are starting to mature.  Our first fall apple is Gala.  An attractive red blushed apple  with pale yellow background. Later we will have Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Reinette Simerenko, Fuji, and Arkansas Black.

And if you love peaches,  we are not done yet.  We are currently selling Rio Oso Gem, Summerset yellow peaches. Soon we will begin to harvest Late Alamar and Fairtime.  There are also some Yellow cling peaches available.

Tomatoes are making a name for themselves.  They are big and red and beautiful.   So Juicy and sweet.  Just right for that summer sandwich or refreshing salad.

 

      Hours

Tues through Sat  10:00 to 6:00

Sunday            11:00 to 5:00  

Closed on Monday

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

VEGETABLES:

Tomatoes:  Red slicers and salad tomatoes.  Striped German and Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes.  These fresh, sweet tomatoes are great for salads, sandwiches, and pizza.  The smaller ones and blemished ones I use in stew and soup.  Sometimes I just bite and add salt.

 

Sakura Cherry Tomatoes:  Large, sweet, red cherry tomatoes.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes:  Bright yellow orange cherry tomatoes known for their bright fruity flavor. A summertime favorite on our farm. 

Basil:  Fragrant and flavorful.  Can be used in salads, sauces and pesto. 

Zucchini:  Green and yellow summer squash fresh out of the garden.  Tender green squash with white flesh. Great for sauteing, boiling, steaming, baking, roasting and adding to soup, stew and stir fry.

Asian Cucumbers:  Burpless, seedless and thin skinned cucumbers.  Refreshing, crisp, and tender.  Eaten as a summer snack, or added into salad or pickled.  Great flavor.

Slicing Cucumbers: Fresh, green cucumbers to add to your summer salads. 

Potatoes:  Youkon Gold potatoes.  Moist and flavorful potatoes with slightly yellow flesh.  These potatoes have thin smooth skin.  Great for roasting, boiling and frying.

Eggplant:  Asian and Italian eggplants.

 

Okra:  Small quantities of okra are available.

 Chili:  Jalapenos: spicy green chiles for adding flavor.           Shishito:  Spicy or not it is just a guess. Eat them fresh or saute them in olive oil with salt.    

FRUIT:

PEACHES

Rio Oso Gem:  Flavorful, sweet, yellow freestone peach.  Used for fresh eating, baking, and canning. (Limited supply.)

Summerset:  Yellow freestone peach.  One  of the last varieties of the season.  Sweet and firm.  Used for fresh eating, baking  and preserving.

        Bowen Cling Peach:  This is not a freestone peach.  It is a cling peach.  The flesh  clings to the pit. Bowen peaches are firm and sweet. Juicy, but not as juicy as a freestone peach. They are delicious eaten out of hand. These are sturdy peaches often used  in processing: canning, and baking.  Since the canneries closed down last year, many orchards of cling peaches were taken out.   

PLUMS 

 

Kelsey:  Yellow-fleshed, green-skinned plum.   It has well balanced sweet/tart flavor.  It is juicy. Can be eaten fresh or used for canning or dehydrating.

Friar:  Dark-skinned, yellow fleshed sweet plum with great fragrance and flavor. Small semi-freestone pit.

Elephant Heart:  Large, red-fleshed plum.  Heart shaped with mottled skin.  Sweet and juicy with good flavor.  Used for fresh eating, baking and jams.

Casselman: Sweet yellow fleshed plum. It has along shelf life and just gets sweeter and sweeter as it ages.  Not particularly juicy but so tasty and sturdy. Great for snacking and eating out of hand.  

FIGS 

Black Mission: Dark almost black skin.  Red to pink, moist flesh. Sweet nutty and fruity flavor with earthy undertones.

Panache:   I call this fig Panache or Tiger Stripe because that is what the nursery sold us many years ago.   It does not exactly fit the descriptions I see online.  Nonetheless, it is a wonderful and popular fig.  Dark green skin with faint striping. Deep pink, moist flesh that is sweet, fruity and honey like.  

Brown Turkey:   The skin is greenish yellow to brown.  The pink to light tan flesh has a mild nutty sweet taste with earthy undertones.  Great for fresh eating, drying, adding to salad, or paired with cheese.

PEARS:    

 Asian Pears: Yoi and Kosui:  Yoi is brown skinned with off white  flesh.  It is very sweet and crisp with caramel flavor. Kosui is a yellow skinned Asian Pear with white flesh. It is sweet, juicy and crisp.

European Pears:  D'anjou :  This pear is usually enjoyed while on the green side and crisp.  It is sweet and tasty.  Often eaten out of hand, added to salads or  baked.

APPLES: 

Gala:  Small crisp apple with yellow skin and a red blush.  It has a mild, sweet, pleasing flavor and texture.  (Limited supply.) 

 

Hoshigaki :  These are whole dried persimmons.  They are hand massaged while they dry 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.  We are currently selling hoshigaki at the farm stand. For on farm orders of more than 1 pound it is best to email or call us to make a pre order.  

Hoshigaki strips:  Thin slices of hoshigaki for snacking.

Persimmon Pulp: Frozen pulp is available for baking or adding to oatmeal, smoothies, desserts or cereal. Some of our customers look forward to eating it like a popsicle!

 

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.   

Here is what we have from other producers: 

Eggs:  La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis. Fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. (Limited supply.)

Red cherry tomatoes:  Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  Grown by organic practices. 

Figs: Lupi Farm in Granite Bay.  

Black Mission figs:  Dark skin with sweet pink flesh.

Bartlet Pears:  Sweet, juicy European pears. Can be enjoyed green and crisp or tender, juicy and soft.  Let this pear ripen to your desired texture.