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.

TIME FOR JUJUBE

 Somehow summer is slipping away.  The trees know this and they are getting ready to switch gears from summer to fall.  Our stone fruit harvest is dwindling with fewer and fewer peaches and plums to display.  Coming in are a few  pears, Asian pears, jujube and grapes.

The jujube trees are loaded.  We will be harvesting all of them in the next 2 to 3 weeks.  Sugar Cane, the small, shiny, round variety, is about finished.  We are beginning to harvest the Li variety.  Li is a large (about 1 inch diameter) oblong jujube .  Like other jujube it has the texture of an apple but not as juicy.  It is sweet and crisp when  firm and as  it wrinkles and gets older it becomes sweeter and more chewy.  The internet suggests that jujube are good for many health conditions.  Often thought of as helpful for anxiety and insomnia as well as improving digestion and general health.

The O'Henry peaches and Rio Oso Gem peaches came and went so fast.  The last 3 varieties are not be as promising as earlier ones.  We are starting Summerset peaches and soon there will be a few Fairtime and Late Alamar peaches.  Sunnyslope Farm is bringing us  Trazee freestone peaches.  Large, sweet and juicy. 

We have offered our customers a large array of plum choices this year.  Still on our table are Laroda, Elephant Heart, Late Santa Rosa, Eldordo, and Casselman.  Elephant Heart plums are sweet with red flesh.  The others are sweet with yellow flesh.

The Asian pear harvest is starting.  There are a few brown skinned pears:  Hosui, Shinko, and Yoi.  The 20th Century yellow pear is also available.  All are crisp, juicy, and sweet. Great for snacks and lunches. 

We have stored away the bartlett pears in the cool room to encourage even  ripening.  We will soon bring them out for the display.

 Fig production is slowing.  We are harvesting Panache figs. These figs are so sweet and moist. They usually sell out within a day.  The other figs, Brown Turkey and Black Mission are trickling in, not many of these varieties left.

The first persimmons are getting ready.  A walk through the orchard reveals green persimmons taking on a muted orange color.  We have a few Coffee Cake (Nishimura Wase) persimmons in the farm stand.  These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝.  

Winter squash is making its debut.  There are delicata, kabocha and butternut squashes.  Time for roasting, baking, steaming, microwaving and making soups and stews.

*Please note:  The farm stand will have shortened hours at the end of September.                        

                                          Thurs Sept 26:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Friday Sept 27:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Sat Sept 28:  10 am to 2 pm

                                           Sun Sept 29:   11am to 4 pm

                                           Mon Sept 30:  Closed

                                           Tues Oct 1:    10 am to 2 pm

                                            Wed Oct 2:  Resume regular hours

REGULAR HOURS

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, 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: 

Laroda:  Dark skin with yellow flesh.  Sweet and juicy with mild tartness.  Good flavor.

Elephant Heart:  Mottled skin with red flesh. Juicy and sweet.

Late Santa Rosa:  LSR. Yellow flesh, sweet/tart, crisp plum variety. Santa Rosa in name only so I call it LSR. Enjoyable. 

Casselman:  Yellow flesh, sweet/tart, crisp plum variety with great flavor and texture.

Eldorado:  Small and sweet.  These small plums are sweet when hard or soft.  Dark skin over golden flesh. Freestone.

 Peaches:

      Summerset:  Sweet/tart yellow freestone peach.  Small in size and firm in texture.  One of the last varieties of the season.

       Soon to be harvested: Fairtime and Late Alamar yellow freestones.

Figs:  Black Mission: Sweet, with firm, dark skin.  (Limited supply.)

          Brown Turkey:  Juicy and sweet with green and brown skin. Flavor has melon undertones. (Limited supply.)

          Panache: Also called Tiger Stripe.  Skin is dull green with some striping.  Reddish flesh is juicy and sweet with a berry background. (Limited supply.)

Grapes: 

        Kyoho grapes are dark skinned, seeded grapes with intense flavor.

        Thompson Seedless :  Small, yellow, seedless grapes.  Crisp and very sweet.

Jujube:  Also called Chinese dates and natsume.  They are a small, oval shaped drupe with a date like seed. Enjoyed when crisp green to brown and even wrinkled and chewy. They are sweet with apple-like texture but not as juicy as apples.

Apples:  There are a few Gala apples appearing on our table. Sweet apples with a crunch. Attractive yellow red skin.

Asian Pears:  Asian pears should be enjoyed while firm and crisp like an apple.

        Shinko:  Firm, sweet and crisp pear.  Brown skin with outstanding flavor and floral fragrance. Eat out of hand or slice and add to salads.  Good for storage.

         Yoi:  Firm, sweet, light brown-skinned Asian pear with a background of butterscotch.  Enjoy when crisp. Not recommended for storage.

        20th Century:  Firm, thin skinned yellow Asian pear. Very popular for its refreshing juice and light crisp texture. It has a mild flavor and keeps well. Eat out of hand or add to salad.

         Yali:  Pear-shaped, firm Asian pear.  Smooth-skinned with fine sweet-tart flavor similar to anise and spice. Very juicy and fragrant. Attractive delicate appearance.

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. The hoshigaki is available in the farm stand. You may drop in for on farm pick up.  Contact us for large on-farm pick-up orders. (916) 791-1656 or email at otowochard@yahoo.com.  Mail orders may restart when the weather cools.

Persimmon: 

  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp.

      Coffee Cake, Nishimura Wase:  These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

Summer Squash:  Limited supply.

Winter Squash: 

     Kaboch:   This winter squash is a popular Japanese pumpkin. It has a hard dark green skin with a thick deep yellow or orange flesh.  Sweet and nutty flavor.  Great for steaming, roasting, baking, stuffing and adding to soup and stews. 

          Delicata: This is a cylindrical green or orange striped squash.  It  has sweet, creamy flesh and edible skin.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked, microwaved, sauteed or stuffed.  The seeds are edible when toasted.

         Butternut:   One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.        

Japanese cucumbers:  Seedless and tender. So crisp and refreshing as  a snack on a warm summer day.We love the flavor of these cucumbers and are always sad when they are gone.  

Tomatoes:  Red, yellow, golden and striped. (limited supply)

Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, Buena Mulata. 

Sweet peppers: Green, orange, and purple sweet peppers. (Limited supply.)

Japanese eggplant:  Limited Supply

Okra:  Okra loves the heat of the summer. Green tender pods.

Basil:  Fresh from our garden.

Blue Lake green beans: Crisp, stringless green beans with mild flavor.  Great for fresh eating, freezing and cooking

Long beans: Tender green beans that happen to be 6" to 15" long. Cut to your desired length.  Uses as any other green bean.  Great seasoned with sesame oil.

Red or Green Shiso leaves:  Beefsteak herb. Japaneses aromatic herb used in salads, soups and on noodles. Can be paired with sashimi. Red shiso is used in preparing umeboshi.

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

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:  Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes. (Currently not available. Please call for update.))

Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, conventional practices:

      Trazee peaches:  Yellow freestone peaches.  Sweet and juicy.

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay, organic practices:

        White Onions and Garlic

        Sweet Bell peppers

        Arugula:  Fresh greens with distinctive peppery flavor.  Add to your salad, sandwich, pesto and pizza or cook in stir fry or soups.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices: 

       Red cherry tomatoes. (Limited Supply).

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

 

LOTS TO OFFER

    The weather has cooled down. We're feeling highs in the 80's and lows in the 50's.  Such a comfortable time of year. The display tables are full of a large variety of produce.

     The Jujube harvest is ramping up. First there was a handful. Now a box every other day.  Soon we hope for a couple boxes a day.  Jujube are often called Chinese dates, ber, or  when dried  they are called red dates. They are sweet like an apple but not as juicy.  An easy snack but watch out for the seed.  This little round fruit has long been recognized by Chinese medicine as having many health benefits. It contains minerals and antioxidants.  

 

    Persimmons are on the horizon.  The first to be harvested are the brown fleshed varieties.  We now have a few Coffee Cake and Nagamaru persimmons.  These brown fleshed persimmons are sweet if pollinated. Some may be partially sweet. Cut the fruit first or eat carefully.  The brown flesh will be sweet and the yellow flesh will be astringent.  We are also getting a few hard Hachiya.  These persimmons are astringent until very soft.  Leave them on the counter till ripe or put them in and then out of the refrigerator.  It may take 1 to 3 weeks to ripen.  

     We are also waiting for the Hachiya persimmons to get full color so we can begin peeling them as the first step to making  hoshigaki.   It is still too early to start if we want to make good hoshigaki.  The crop looks decent but Tosh warns me that we may still need to source hachiya from other farms.

    It's fall and that means pears and apples.  We are currently selling Bartlett and D'anjou European pears.  Soft, sweet, and juicy with yellow skin.  We also have several Asian pear types:  Shinko, 20th Century, New Century, and Yoi.  These are firm and crisp, juicy and sweet. In the apple department we have crisp and sweet Red Delicious. We have also started harvesting Reinette Simerenko apples.  These are crisp, sweet-tart, green apples with stand out flavor. Soon we will have Fuji apples, and Granny Smith.

    Our vegetable garden is still producing.  We are getting tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, chili peppers, sweet peppers, beans, eggplants, tomatillos, and very few squash.  Winter squash season has started. We have Delicata, Red Kuri, Kabocha,Black Futsu, and Butternut.

    We are getting help in the vegetable department from WoodRose Country Garden.  Lani brings us tomatoes, beans, peppers, eggplants, garlic, potatoes, arugula, basil, and Pink Banana Squash.  Kijani farm brings us Kabocha, butternut squash, and cherry tomatoes.

 

HOURS:

Tues through Sat  10:00 am to 6 pm 

Sunday  11:00 am to 5:00 pm

CLOSED ON MONDAYS 

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

Hoshigaki:  Currently sold out. 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.  Hoshigaki processed in 2022 have sold out.  We normally begin peeling persimmons in October.  The early hoshigaki may be available in November. You may contact us for on-farm pick-up orders.  Look for the mail order form online in October. Mail order shipments do not usually begin until December.

Apples: 

        Red Delicious:  mild sweet, firm-crisp with a pleasant flavor and texture.

        Reinete Simerenko:  a green sweet-tart apple with great flavor. I call it a cider apple.

European Pears:

    Bartlett:  Classic pear flavor and juicy.  Ready to eat when yellow and is eaten fresh or used in cooking or preserving.

    D'anjou:  Mature when light green to light yellow.  Smooth sweet-tart pear used for fresh eating, salads, baking, poaching, and grilling. 

Grapes:  

     Red Purlett : A crisp, seedless, sweet, red grapes. 

    Thompson Seedless:  yellow green grapes that are tart or intensely sweet.

    

Asian Pears:  

    20th Century:  Yellow, round pear known for being sweet, tender, crisp, and juicy. Great for snacking or adding to salads.

    New Century:  Large, round, sweet pear with sturdy texture. Great for snacking or adding to salads.  It has yellow skin and white flesh.

    Yoi:   This is a brown-skinned, fine-textured, crisp, sweet and juicy pear. The flavor has a hint of butterscotch.

    Shinko:  Large round pear with brown thicker skin.  Very sweet and juicy, a good keeper.

Persimmons:

    Hachiya:  Tall acorn-shaped persimmon.  It is astringent until soft and jelly-like. It becomes very sweet soft and delicate. Fresh eating right out of its skin or often used for baking cookies and pudding.

    Coffeecake:  It looks like a Fuyu with its flat round shape but the flesh is brown.  It is recommended that you cut the fruit so you can eat the sweet brown parts.

Enlarge the photo to see the fruit.

    Jujube:    Jujube are often called Chinese dates, ber, or  when dried  they are called red dates. We harvest when they are yellow and brown.  Gradually they become all brown and eventually shriveled.  They are enjoyed at all these stages. They are sweet and crisp like an apple but not as juicy.  An easy snack but watch out for the seed.  This little round fruit has long been recognized by Chinese medicine as having many health benefits. It contains minerals and antioxidants.  Avoid if on anti-seizure or anti-depressant medications.

Figs:  

    Black Misson:  Very popular variety with mild sweetness. When ripe it is moist yet chewy with rich flavor.

    Panache:  Green striped fig often referred to as Tiger Stripe.  Sweet, fragrant fig with a hint of raspberry.

    Brown Turkey:  Brown fig with shades of green and yellow.  When ripe, this fig is soft, sweet and jammy.

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

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

Tomatoes:   Slicing, salad and colorful tomatoes.  All vine ripened and full of flavor.  This late in the season, sizes and quality are declining but the flavor is still there.

Cherry Tomatoes:

    Sungold, Sweet 100,  Black Cherry, and Yellow Pear.  Limited supply.

Chili Peppers:   Aji Amareto, Buena Mulata, Fish, Jalapenos, and Shishito---All limited supply.

Tomatillos:   These look like small green tomatoes in a paper shell.  They can be cooked or eaten raw. You can add them to salads or make them into green salsa.

Cucumbers:  

    Japanese cucumbers are thin skinned, crisp, seedless and sweet.

    Armenian cucumbers are firm, and crisp.

Japanese Eggplant:  These have a long shape with thin skin.  It has tender flesh with delicate flavor and few seeds.

Sweet Peppers: Green, yellow and purple varieties.

Okra: When we pay attention, we harvest tender pods.

Long Beans:  Similar in taste to green beans.   Texture is more tender.

Winter Squash:   Delicata:  This is a cylindrical green or orange striped squash.  It  has sweet, creamy flesh and edible skin.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked, microwaved, sauteed or stuffed.  The seeds are edible when toasted.

    Kabocha, Red Kuri, Black Futsu:  Known as a Japanese pumpkins.  These varieties have sweet, thick dry flesh. They can be steamed, baked, roasted, sauted or added to soups and stews.

    Butternut Squash:    One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh.  The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh.   It has a sweet nutty flavor.  Is can be roasted, steamed, baked  and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.  

Quince:  This fruit is firm and seldom eaten raw.  It has a pleasing fragrance which can be preserved by making sauce, jams, jelly, adding it to  apple dishes, and pairing it with pork.  It is a great source for pectin.  Quince must be peeled, cored and cooked to make it softer.  It is famously used to make Quince sauce or Doulce de Membrillo, Quince candy.

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden  in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Eggplant, okra, beans, colorful bell peppers, potatoes, garlic and arugula.

    Seasoning:  basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, fresh garlic

    Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Sun-dried San Marzano tomatoes.

    Winter squash:  Butternut, Pink Banana Squash, Spaghetti, and Shark Fin Squash.

    Grapes:  Red Flame grapes are a crisp, grape with skin color from deep red to dark purple.  It is sweet and seedless.

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay:   Bees wax 🐝.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. Production is low.  As days get shorter the chickens go through molting. This is the process of loosing old feathers and regrowing new feathers.  During this period, egg laying decreases and chickens concentrate on storing nutrients for the next season.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes

     Kabocha, Japanese winter squash (pumpkin).  Butternut winter squash

Mihara Farm  conventional farming in Newcastle, CA:  Kiwi from Mihara Farm.

Placer County Master Gardeners:   2024 Gardening Guide and Calendar.  Provides helpful hints throughout your gardening year.

SUMMERTIME FADING

         Nature is transitioning to the next season.  Not quite persimmon season.  Many have been asking about persimmons.  Looks like we will  have a better crop than last year.  The fruit are beginning to change from green to a hint of orange.  Normally the brown fleshed persimmons are the first to mature.  A few may show up at the farm stand by the end of September.     

    Fig trees are happily producing brown, black and green skinned figs.  We have many coming from our trees as well as from Lupi Farm in Granite Bay.  All are grown without sprays.

 

    While many wineries are preparing to crush grapes, we are harvesting table grapes.  We have sweet yellow Thompson seedless grapes, sweet seedless Red Perlett, and the ever popular dark seeded Kyoho grapes. WoodRose Country Garden brings us the sweet traditional Red Flame grapes.

    There seems to be olives this year.  We are currently selling green Manzanella olives.  These are raw and need to be processed by your traditional method.  We harvest a bit early to avoid the olive fruit fly hatch.  So don't delay if you want to process some olives.

    Apple season is officially here with Gala apples.  These are yellow apples with a red blush. They are sweet, juicy and crisp.  The Red delicious are starting to come off the trees.  Ours are fresh, sweet, crisp, and juicy.

    In the area of pears, we are harvesting both European and Asian varieties.  The Bartlett pears are loosing their green color and turning a delicious yellow with smooth texture and sweetness.  The Asian pears we have are 20th Century, New Century, and Yoi.

    People are asking about Jujube.  They are getting some color now.  They should be available by the last week of September.

    Summer gardens are slowing down. I definitely see a decrease in the size and quality of tomatoes.  This happens near the end of the growing season.  Tomatoes may be smaller and uglier but they still possess that standout flavor that we crave.  The summer squash plants are tired.  Now and then we still get a few zucchini or yellow squash. Beans, cucumbers, and eggplant are still giving us a good production.

    The winter squashes are showing their colors.  They are ready for your roasting, steaming  and stewing along with seasoning of your choice.  We currently have Butternut, Kabocha,  Delicata and Spaghetti squashes.  WooddRose Garden has added  a new variety called Shark Fin.  It is a green Asian Spaghetti squash.  The noodles inside are clear and resemble the Shark Fin used in Asian soups.

HOURS:

Tues through Sat  10:00 am to 6 pm 

Sunday  11:00 am to 5:00 pm

CLOSED ON MONDAYS 

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

Hoshigaki:  Currently sold out. 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.  Hoshigaki processed in 2022 have sold out.  We normally begin peeling persimmons in October.  The early hoshigaki may be available in November. You may contact us for on-farm pick-up orders.  Look for the mail order form online in October. Mail order shipments do not usually begin until December.

Plums:  Empress :  A freestone, yellow-fleshed European plum with blue/purple skin.   They are sweet and meaty. Used for cooking, baking preserving and eating fresh.

Apples:  

        Gala: Sweet, crisp and juicy with a floral aroma.

        Red Delicious:  mild sweet, firm-crisp with a pleasant flavor and texture.

Grapes:  

    Kyoho:  Very sweet large purple grapes with concord-like flavor. Seeded.  

     Red Purlett :  seedless, sweet, red grapes. 

    Thompson Seedless:  yellow green grapes that are tart or intensely sweet.

Asian Pears:  

    20th Century:  Yellow, round pear known for being sweet, tender, crisp, and juicy. Great for snacking or adding to salads.

    New Century:  Large, round, sweet pear with sturdy texture. Great for snacking or adding to salads.  It has yellow skin and white flesh.

    Yoi:   This is a brown-skinned, fine-textured, crisp, sweet and juicy pear. The flavor has a hint of butterscotch.

Figs:  

    Black Misson:  Very popular variety with mild sweetness. When ripe it is moist yet chewy with rich flavor.

    Panache:  Green striped fig often referred to as Tiger Stripe.  Sweet, fragrant fig with a hint of raspberry.

    Brown Turkey:  Brown fig with shades of green and yellow.  When ripe, this fig is soft, sweet and jammy.

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

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:   Supply is low for the moment.

Tomatoes:   Slicing, salad and colorful tomatoes.  All vine ripened and full of flavor.  This late in the season, sizes and quality are declining but the flavor is still there.

Cherry Tomatoes:

    Sungold, Sweet 100,  Black Cherry, Napa Rose, Rosalita, Yellow Pear.  Limited supply.

Chili Peppers:   Aji Amareto, Buena Mulata, Jalapenos, and Shishito---All limited supply.

Cucumbers:  

    Japanese cucumbers are thin skinned, crisp, seedless and sweet.

    Armenian cucumbers are firm, and crisp.

Japanese Eggplant:  These have a long shape with thin skin.  It has tender flesh with delicate flavor and few seeds.

Sweet Peppers: Green, yellow and purple varieties.

Okra: When we pay attention, we harvest tender pods.

Long Beans:  Similar in taste to green beans.   Texture is more tender.

Winter Squash:   Delicata:  This is a cylindrical green or orange striped squash.  It  has sweet, creamy flesh and edible skin.  It can be roasted, steamed, baked, microwaved, sauteed or stuffed.  The seeds are edible when toasted.

Olives: Manzanilla olives are meaty with a slight nutty flavor when processed. These are raw green olives and must be processed by your traditional method.  We harvest a bit early to avoid the olive fruit fly hatch.  So don't delay if you want to process these olives.

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden  in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Summer squash, eggplant, okra, carrots, beans, colorful bell peppers, potatoes, and colorful Bell peppers.

    Seasoning:  basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, fresh garlic

    Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Sun-dried San Marzano tomatoes.

    Winter squash:  Butternut, Spaghetti, and Shark Fin (Asian spaghetti squash)

    Grapes:  Red Flame grapes are a crisp, grape with skin color from deep red to dark purple.  It is sweet and seedless.

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay: Honey  🍯. Top of the Hill Apiary also has bees wax 🐝. 

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, Conventional practices:  Tra Zee peaches.  These are large, tree ripened, juicy, sweet peaches. They are a yellow freestone peach with dark red skin and a firm texture. They are the last variety of the season. We have a limited supply.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. Production is low.  As days get shorter the chickens go through molting. This is the process of loosing old feathers and regrowing new feathers.  During this period, egg laying decreases and chickens concentrate on storing nutrients for the next season.

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes

     Red Russian Kale, Dino Kale, Curly Kale, and Swiss Chard.

     Kaboch, Japanese winter squash (pumpkin).  Butternut winter squash

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, no spray:    Black Mission Figs :  Black skinned, sweet, chewy flesh.

Mihara Farm  conventional farming in Newcastle, CA:  Kiwi from Mihara Farm.