Otow Orchard Fruit Stand

Showing posts with label figs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label figs. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

TOMATO SEASON

 The long awaited tomato season is here.  We have big red slicers, yellow heirlooms and yellow and red cherry tomatoes.  Time for a summer salad or a big juicy sandwich.

Peaches are going strong with both yellow and white freestone peaches.  Time for peach pie, and peach cobbler, or my favorite peach crisp. Many of the current varieties are also used for freezing, canning and jams.  We are also harvesting cling peaches.These would give a sturdy peach to any processed or baked peach.  We enjoy these fresh when looking for something to get your teeth into.


 

Okra blossom

      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.
Chard:  These greens are tender and tasty. Great for sauteing or adding to soup, casseroles, omelets, and stews.
Eggplant:  Both Asian and Italian eggplants will soon be available.
 
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

 49er:  Yellow freestone peach with smooth texture. Sweet and juicy. Used for fresh eating, baking, and canning.

Fay Elberta:   Yellow freestone peach with smooth texture. Sweet and juicy. Known for its "melt in your mouth texture". Used for fresh eating, baking, and canning.

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


White Peaches:  

        Opale:  Firm white, freestone peaches.  They are low acid, sweet and tasty. Enjoyed when firm and crisp or soft and juicy.

        Paradise:  Soft fleshed, white, freestone peaches. They are juicy, sweet, low acid and high in flavor.

        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

Eldorado:  Small dark-skinned plum. Sweet even when firm. Freestone. Used for fresh eating, baking and canning.  

Laroda:  Large flavorful dark-skinned plum. Sweet and juicy with a background of tang.  Great for fresh eating, preserving, and dehydrating.  

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.

PLUOTS

Flavor Grenade:  Egg-shaped pluot with green-yellow skin with a reddish blush.  Enjoyed firm ripe with a crisp texture.  Outstanding sweet flavor.
 
Flavor Jewel:  Firm light yellow pluot with red highlighted skin and shiny yellow flesh.  Eaten crisp with very sweet taste.   
Flavor King: Dark skinned pluot with red flesh. Very sweet and flavoful. Hint of Santa Rosa flavor. (Limited supply.) 
 


 

 
 
BLACKBERRIES:  These thorny vines produce a sweet and tart mixed basket of wild berries.  Intense berry flavor with earthy sweetness. (Limited supply.)
 
NECTARNES

Fantasia:  Yellow skinned nectarine with red blush.  Yellow, sweet tart flesh.  Great flavor. 
 
Heavenly White:  White and red skin over white juicy flesh. Sweet-tart aromatic flavor.  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 ๐Ÿฏ from bees ๐Ÿ at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees ๐Ÿ 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. Fresh๐Ÿฅš eggs from pastured ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”chickens. (Limited supply.)

Onions:  La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis.  Red, Yellow, and White onions grown with organic practices. 

 Rio Red Grapefruit:  Stoney Point Farm

 in Loomis,(Organic certified). These large grapefruit are juicy, sweet and red fleshed. Low in bitterness.

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

Figs: Lupi Farm in Granite Bay.  Black Mission figs (Very limited supply.)
 




Posted by Chris Kuratomi at 10:26 AM No comments:
Labels: best hoshigaki, blackberries, Calendula salve, chiles, cucumbers, egg, eggplant, figs, grapefruit, honey, onions, peach, plum, pluots, squash, tomato, vegetables, zucchini

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

CHOCOLATE PERSIMMONS


It was nearly the end of the day.  The sun had just dipped below the horizon. The sky was a faded blue.  Realizing  daylight was limited, I was making a quick harvest through the tomato patch.  As I pulled tomatoes off the vines I realized that my peripheral vision was busy.  Turning my attention to the darting movement in the air just above my head I realized that dragonflies were busy.  As I harvested tomatoes they were harvesting insects that I disturbed as I picked tomatoes from the vines.  As I continued down the rows of tomatoes I gave each tomato cage a little extra shake to disturb a few extra critters into the air for the dragonflies on duty.  As I watched this event unfold I recalled an evening from my childhood.  My sister and I were in the farm yard at dusk.  There were occasional dragonflies darting about snatching a bug here and a bug there.  When we waved our arms, they would dart toward us but realize that we were not insects.  We then discovered that if we threw a small  object into the air we could attract the dragonflies.  We had a great time that evening tossing bits of sand into the air and watching as many dragonflies swooped down to investigate these small objects.  I think the dragonflies soon got wise to our antics or it was getting to be time for them to retire for the evening.

Sadly, the peach season is behind us till next June.   Fall crops are in full swing.  We have several varieties of apples, figs, grapes, Jujube,  European pears, Asian pears, and persimmons.  The White pomegranates and Quince are starting and the Casselman plums will be with us for a couple more weeks.

We are starting to harvest the brown fleshed persimmons: Coffeecake, Maru, Chocolate and Nagamaru. If these persimmon flowers were pollinated in the spring, seeds started to form. A persimmon has 8 seeds.  The seeds influence the flesh to turn brown and sweet.  When pollination is not successful the persimmon will remain astringent and the flesh will be orange.   There is a range of sweetness dependent on the number of seeds that formed in the fruit.  For the novice, our recommendation is to cut the persimmon to see the sweet brown flesh before biting into the fruit.

 Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons are not ready for harvest.  They are getting more color daily but not yet ready.  Fuyu are often ready in late October.  We may start to harvest Hachiya in a couple week but they will not be ready to eat for another month.  I must add that  every year is different.

 


 


 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.



PLUMS


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

FIGS   (Limited supply.)

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. 

PERSIMMONS

Coffeecake:  Early ripening persimmon.  Don't let them fool you.  They look like Fuyu persimmons but are actually brown fleshed persimmons.   Can be eaten crisp or softer. Sweet flavor when pollinated and brown fleshed. For the novice, our recommendation is to cut the persimmon to see the sweet brown flesh before biting into the fruit.

Maru, Nagamaru, and Chocolate: These persimmons  are brown fleshed when pollinated.  They are sweet and can be eaten hard  or softer.  For the novice, our recommendation is to cut the persimmon to see the sweet brown flesh before biting into the fruit.

 

 


      

 

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.  We plan to put a mail order form on this website in late October.



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

 APPLES


Striped Delicious:  Sweet, crisp apple.  Red blush over light yellow skin.   Great for snacking and sauce.

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.

Yoi:  Brown skinned Asian pear.  Sweet, crisp and juicy.  Butterscotch and spice undertones.

 


EUROPEAN PEARS

Bartlett Pear:  Sweet and juicy European pear. Flesh is white with soft texture and mild fragrance. Used for fresh eating, canning poaching and baking.  I love mine with a scoop of cottage cheese.


 

D'anjou Pear:   Sweet and juicy European pear. Enjoyed when it is a little firm.  Can be eaten out of hand or sliced into cereal or yogurt.  May be poached or used in baking.  Skin remains on the green side.  Ready to eat when neck area begins to soften.

POMEGRANATES

White Pomegranates:  The actual name of this variety is unknown. Kichitaro Kawano, founder of this orchard, planted it over 100 years ago.  The name has been lost.  Yellow skin over pink arils. The seeds are sweet with a smaller core than other pomegranates.  Pink juice does not stain.

Quince:  Related to pears and apples, quince are firm, fragrant, and tart. They contain pectin which promotes gelling. Seldom eaten raw, it is usually cooked with sweetener for jam jelly, candy or added to stews. Quince sauce pairs nicely with pork.


Local Honey  Honey ๐Ÿฏ from bees ๐Ÿ at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees ๐Ÿ 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.

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.)


Other Vegetables: (Limited supply.)

Green beans

Bell peppers 

Okra





Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, Conventional practices.

    Fuji apples:  Sweet arnd crisp with red blush over green skin.  Very juicy. 



La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh๐Ÿฅš eggs from pastured ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”chickens.  Limited supply.


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


     Vanilla Exract:  Homemade in Loomis, CA at La Bella Vito Farm. Fragrant vanilla flavoring.

 


Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  No spray practice:

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

 

Posted by Chris Kuratomi at 9:07 AM No comments:
Labels: apple, Asian pear, best hoshigaki, butternut squash, Calendula salve, cucumbers, eggs, figs, grape, honey, jujube, pears, peppers, plum, pomegranate, tomato, zucchini

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

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. Sweetand juicy  


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

EUROPEAN PEARS

Bartlett Pear:  Sweet and juicy European pear. Flesh is white with soft texture and mild fragrance. Used for fresh eating, canning poaching and baking.  I love mine with a scoop of cottage cheese.


 

D'anjou Pear:   Sweet and juicy European pear. Enjoyed when it is a little firm.  Can be eaten out of hand or sliced into cereal or yogurt.  May be poached or used in baking.  Skin remains on the green side.  Ready to eat when neck area begins to soften.


 

Quince:  Related to pears and apples, quince are firm, fragrant, and tart. They contain pectin which promotes jelling. Seldom eaten raw it is usually cooked with sweetener for jam jelly, candy or added to stews. Quince sauce pairs nicely with pork.


Local Honey  Honey ๐Ÿฏ from bees ๐Ÿ at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees ๐Ÿ 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)


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 fresh๐Ÿฅš eggs from pastured ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”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. 

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  No spray practice:


 

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

Posted by Chris Kuratomi at 9:20 AM No comments:
Labels: apple, Asian pear, best hoshigaki, butternut squash, Calendula salve, cucumbers, eggplant, eggs, figs, grape, honey, jujube, peach, plum, squash, tomato, vegetables

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

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 ๐Ÿฏ from bees ๐Ÿ at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees ๐Ÿ 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 fresh๐Ÿฅš eggs from pastured ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”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.

 


 

Posted by Chris Kuratomi at 9:57 AM No comments:
Labels: apple, best hoshigaki, Calendula salve, cucumbers, eggplant, eggs, figs, honey, hoshigaki, Job posting, peach, peppers, plum, squash, tomato, zucchini
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  • ▼  2026 (11)
    • ▼  July (2)
      • TOMATO SEASON
      • PEACHES, PLUMS, PLUOTS AND NECTARINES
    • ►  June (1)
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