FRUIT TREES IN BLOOM

 We often think of March 20th as the first day of spring.  Flowers everywhere and green grass.  Here at Otow Orchard, spring is already happening.  The blossoms of plums and pluots are falling on  the ground and light green leaflets are taking their place.  The pink blossoms of peaches and nectarines are blooming now.  They paint the trees with a swath of delicate pastel blooms.  I was delighted to see miniature Galaxy doughnut peaches and Blenheim apricots on the trees.

Now that we are getting fewer rain days, we have resumed pruning the rain sensitive trees:  peach, plum, nectarine and pluot.  We are clearing places to plant new trees. Digging holes and bringing compost to the holes.  Next we have to decide what to plant where. Currently we have a few bear root trees available:  peach, plum and apple.

The vegetables are getting a good start.  The hot house is  protecting tender tomato, pepper, eggplant, broccolini and lettuce plants. Several rows of vegetables are coming up in the garden. I see arugula, komatsuna, radishes, turnips, beets, and sugar snap peas. We are hoping some of these will be ready for sale in April. 

SLOW SEASON HOURS 

February to mid May:

Tues, Wed, and Thurs:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

 Fri and Sat:  10 am to 6 pm

 Sunday                   CLOSED

 Monday                 CLOSED

 

You may request an appointment if you need a different time We will try to accommodate. Call my mobile phone and LEAVE A MESSAGE.  (916) 300-0720.

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

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.  For mail orders please use our 2025  mail order form.    

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!

 

CITRUS

Navel Oranges:   Sweet and juicy with traditional orange flavor.  

Yellow Grapefruit:  Our yellow grapefruit are small but mighty in flavor. Sweet and juicy.

 

Kiwi:  Green fleshed Kiwi from our vines.  The fuzzy fruit. Now getting soft and sweet with a tangy background.

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:

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, No spray.

Meyer Lemons:   These sought after lemons are less acidic than regular lemons. They have a thin peel often used for its fragrant zest.  Meyer are rounder than regular lemons with a dark yellow skin.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis might bring us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.   Currently no supply. 

The California Persimmon:  A book published by the ANR covering history and background of persimmons. Contains many new and traditional persimmon recipes.

 

SLOW SEASON

SLOW SEASON BUT NOT FOR LONG.    Bee boxes are gone for now.  Bees are busy pollinating almonds in the Sacramento Valley.  They will return in March or April.  Meanwhile, our orchard is starting to bloom, but no worries, most of our varieties are self fruitful. If not, they are assisted by native pollinators and the wind.

Between rain storms, we are busy pruning trees.  We are concentrating on  the stone fruit: peaches, plums, pluots, and nectarines.  We tend to leave the apricots and the cherries alone. We try to finish the pruning before the fruit sets on the trees. This week I see white puffy plum and pluot blossoms.  Later this month the pink peach blossoms will dot the orchard.  And so signs of a new season start.  

 

 

 

 

Thoughts of yummy vegetables tingle my palate.  Vegetable gardens are taking shape. The seed beds are manually formed and irrigation tape put in place.  A few  beds are planted with arugula, komatsuna, radish, turnips, beets and snap peas.  Look for some of these offerings at the end of March.  We have started tomato plants in the hot house. 

 

SLOW SEASON HOURS

February to mid May:

Tues, Wed, and Thurs:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

 Fri and Sat:  10 am to 6 pm

 Sunday                   CLOSED

 Monday                 CLOSED

 

You may request an appointment if you need a different time We will try to accommodate. Call my mobile phone and LEAVE A MESSAGE.  (916) 300-0720.

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

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.  For mail orders please use our 2025  mail order form.    

CITRUS

Navel Oranges:   Sweet and juicy with traditional orange flavor.  

Clementine Mandarins:  Sweet  and juicy with distinct flavor. Thin skin. Source for vitamin C.

Yellow Grapefruit:  Our yellow grapefruit are small but mighty in flavor. Sweet and juicy.

 

Kiwi:  Green fleshed Kiwi from our vines.  The fuzzy fruit. Now getting soft and sweet with a tangy background.

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:

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, No spray.

Meyer Lemons:   These sought after lemons are less acidic than regular lemons. They have a thin peel often used for its fragrant zest.  Meyer are rounder than regular lemons with a dark yellow skin.

 Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln. No spray.

Navel Oranges:  Juicy and sweet. Orange flesh. Refreshing,and flavorful orange.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis might bring us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.  Chickens are currently molting so egg production is low.  Also, production is limited by short daylight hours. Currently no supply. Production should increase in March.  Limited supply.

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

 

 

The California Persimmon:  A book published by the ANR covering history and background of persimmons. Contains many new and traditional persimmon recipes.

 

TIME FOR CITRUS

 HOURS

Month of January: 

Tues through Sat     10 am to 4 pm

Sundays                   11 am to 4 pm

Mondays                  CLOSED

February to mid May:

Tues, Wed, and Thurs:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

 Fri and Sat:  10 am to 6 pm

 Sunday                   CLOSED

 Monday                 CLOSED

 

 

The days are short and the temperature is low.  Somehow the farm stand  display is still full.  Now, finally, we have an abundance of soft Hachiya persimmons.  Customers have been waiting since October! These are now sweet, succulent, tasty Hachiya. They are deep orange with tender skin and so juicy. Great for eating out of their skins or time to bring out a persimmon cookie or pudding recipe.

Fuyu persimmons are still hanging out.  Of course they are not as crisp  as before but sweeter.  While many enjoy the hard crisp Fuyu, there are those of you who like them just as well when they are getting soft.

'Tis the season for citrus.   We have sweet Satsuma mandarins from our orchard. Unfortunately  some were rain damaged.  Our Navel Orange, Blood Orange and yellow grapefruit trees are now producing.  We are getting Meyer lemons from Lupi Farm.   Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln is supplying Navel oranges and Cara Cara Oranges.

The orchard is soggy.  We would like to get in there and prepare sites for our new trees.  We have to limit tractor rides in the orchard to prevent soil compaction or getting a tractor stuck in the mud!  Tosh is is surveying the trees and removing those that are not productive. When Tosh and I began farming in earnest we proudly planned and planted an acre of peaches that were supposed to ripen successively from June 15 to Aug 15.  Mother Nature had other plans. We began to  learned that every year is different.  There are trends but not certainty.  That acre of trees we planted 27 years ago are mostly gone. Peach trees don't seem to have much longevity when grown without chemical inputs.  We will be planting some new trees in that area this year.

Persimmon tree pruning has begun.  We are avoiding pruning peaches, plums and pears till we have a promise of a few dry days.  We try to avoid exposing  freshly cut limbs to diseases when the weather is moist.

We are still processing hoshigaki, dried persimmons. Many are in a holding stage in the freezer.  As we take then out we knead them and sort them one last time.  Then we will package them for sale or storage.  We are taking orders for hoshigaki mail order.  Please click here to use our order form. You can also pick up hoshigaki at the farm.

 

 PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR HOURS ARE IN TRANSITION. See hours listing at the top.

You may request an appointment if you need a different time We will try to accommodate. Call my mobile phone and leave a message.  (916) 300-0720 

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

PERSIMMONS

FUYU:  These are low acid, firm, sweet and crisp.  People love them because they are always sweet. They can be eaten firm or softer depending on your preference.  It is late in the season for crisp Fuyu.  Many people are still enjoying the softer sweeter fruit.

Hachiya:  Hachiya are tall, orange, acorn shaped persimmons that cannot be eaten till soft as pudding in a bag.  They become soft, sweet and juicy. It was suggested that you bite a little hole in the skin and suck out the contents for a sweet treat.  Watch out for the seeds.

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.  The last hoshigaki for this season were peeled  at the end of November.  These will dry slowly for the next four to six weeks.  December and January are usually the best time to get hoshigaki. 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.  For mail orders please use our mail order form.

CITRUS

Satsuma Mandarins:  Easy to peel, sweet, juicy and few seeds.  Great for fresh eating or adding to salad. High in vitamin C.

Navel Oranges:   Sweet and juicy with traditional orange flavor.  

Blood Oranges:  This year most of our Blood Oranges are small and yellow on the outside.  But the inside is a vibrant red to orange color
characteristic of this variety. They are flavorful, sweet and juicy.

Kiwi:  Green fleshed Kiwi from our vines.  The fuzzy fruit. Now getting soft and sweet with a tangy background.

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:

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay, No spray.

Meyer Lemons:   These sought after lemons are less acidic than regular lemons. They have a thin peel often used for its fragrant zest.  Meyer are rounder than regular lemons with a dark yellow skin.

 Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln. No spray.

Navel Oranges:  Juicy and sweet. Orange flesh. Refreshing,and flavorful orange.

Cara Cara Oranges:  Juicy and sweet pink flesh orange.  Great flavor, low acid.

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis might bring us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.  Chickens are currently molting so egg production is low.  Also, production is limited by short daylight hours. Currently no supply. Production should increase in February.  Limited supply.

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

 

 

The California Persimmon:  A book published by the ANR covering history and background of persimmons. Contains many new and traditional persimmon recipes.

 

Bees are visiting the Mokel ume blossoms.

FRUIT TREES FOR SALE

     Now is the time to plant bare root peach trees.  We have selected old time, flavorful varieties that are sweet, and juicy. Our summertime customers keep asking for them after the trees are empty. 

      Springcrest:  Yellow freestone peach. Early June harvest. Good flavor for an early season peach.  Sweet.  Self- fruitful. 

      Summerset:  Yellow freestone peach. Mid-August, late season peach. Sweet, juicy, melting flesh. Self- fruitful. 

     Gene Elberta:  Yellow freestone peach.   Mid to late July. Great flavor, sweet and juicy. Self- fruitful. 

     O'Henry:  Yellow freestone peach.  Early August. Great flavor. Sweet,  juicy, firm flesh.  Self- fruitful. 

      Fay Elberta:  Yellow freestone peach. Late July.  Melting, sweet, juicy flesh. Great flavor.  Self- fruitful. 

      Suncerest:  Yellow freestone peach.   Late July.  Red and yellow flesh.  Great flavor, sweet and juicy. Self- fruitful. 

      Regina:  Yellow freestone peach. Late June. Sweet and juicy. Self- fruitful. 

      We are happy to give planting directions if needed. 

         Although our winter hours are limited,  we have a good supply of seasonal fruit.  It is still citrus season. We have mandarins,  oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. 

    We are just about finished putting hoshigaki away in storage.  There are a few more boxes to knead and sort.  We are finding that many of these last of the season hoshigaki had a hard time drying.  Some got hard too fast, others never seemed to dry. Some have less sugar than we expected.  Many of these pieces will be cut into strips of hoshigaki for snack bags.  They make a nice sweet treat.  Gradually, we will be taking Hoshigaki out of storage to sell at the farm stand or through mail orders.  Hoshigaki is available in the farm stand and through mail order. Please contact us for large on-farm pick up orders.  For mail orders, please use our  2024   mail order form. 

    We are starting to prepare for our summer vegetable garden. We are excited that our tomato seeds successfully germinated.  Now we must watch and water them carefully for the next month.  Meanwhile we will be deciding where to plant them and start forming beds for the plants.  When the soil warms up we will directly seed summer squash and cucumbers.

 

     The orchard is starting to blossom. The workers are pruning peaches and plum trees between the rain storms.  They will also be cleaning up the brush, cutting suckers,  planting trees,  and cleaning the weeds around the base of the young trees. Ume have finished blooming and we can see tiny fruit on some of the trees.

   Please note, we will be closed on Sundays and Mondays till mid May.  We are open Friday and Saturday and have abbreviated hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.   Sorry for the inconvenience.  You are welcome to call me for special hours at (916) 300-0720, or (916) 791-1656. 

 

Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Open Tues,Wed and Thurs only two hours 11:30 to 1:30

Open Fri and Sat:   10am to 6pm

 

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

 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.  For mail orders please use our mail order form. 

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

 Hachiya Pulp:  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp is available. Often used to make cookies, puddings and breads.  Many customers put it on yogurt and oatmeal  or add it to their smoothie.

Navel Oranges:  fresh, sweet and juicy oranges.

Eureka Lemons:  These are very tart lemons. Great for contrast in sweet and sour recipes like:  lemonade, lemon meringue pie, sweet and sour pork, and lemon bars.

 Kiwi:   Brown fuzzy skin.  Sweet, tart fruit. Green flesh with tiny black seeds. (Limited supply).

Yellow grapefruit:  Sweet tart grapefruit with yellow flesh.  This variety has great flavor.

Blood oranges: Sweet tart oranges that have deep red 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.

Peach trees:  These are bare root peach trees.  They should be planted in the next few weeks.  See list above.

Here is what we have from other producers:

Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln, no spray.

    Navel Oranges:  Sweet and juicy, orange fleshed oranges.

    

Stoney Point Orchard,  Loomis, CA organic certified:

    Tango mandarin:  Sweet, tender mandarins. Thin tight skin.

    Blood oranges:  Sweet oranges with red flesh. 

    Meyer Lemons:  These lemons have dark yellow skin and are less acidic than regular lemons.  Known for their flavor and fragrance.  Skin is thin and is often used for its fragrant zest.

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

 

The California Persimmon Recipe Book:  Introduction to basic persimmon knowledge followed by recipes for the different types of persimmons.

 

PEACHES, PLUMS, AND TOMATOES

 We are experiencing the heat and heart  of summer.  We are busy on the farm trying to keep up with the harvest and preparing it for sale.  A great deal  of produce this year is going to the food bank and other programs.  The fruit is on the smaller side due to the heavy crop.  The larger pieces are generally sold at the farm stand and the smaller  but still tasty  ones go for donations.  The really ugly and very small ones usually end up feeding animals.  

There are so many varieties of plums to offer.  Red fleshed plums are:  Burgundy, Frontier, Elephant Heart, and Mariposa.  Yellow fleshed plums are:  Santa Rosa, Laroda, Kelsey, and Red Roy.  Each one has it's own flavor, texture and aroma.  Hope you will find one that pleases your pallet.

Pluots are also coming on.  There are Dapple Dandy, Flavor Queen, and FlavorGrenade.  These are crosses between a plum and an apricot. 

More varieties of peaches are maturing.  Currently harvesting Gene Elberta, Silver Logan, Bowen, Sugar Lady, Fay Elberta, Loring and 49er. 

The gardens are producing tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, long beans, squash, and cucumbers. Some of the plants are suffering from the high heat which decreases its production and vitality.

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:  

     Santa Rosa: Sweet, and juicy. One of the all time  most   popular  varieties.  They are very flavorful and fragrant.   Don't miss out.

    Burgundy:  Soft or firm sweet plums with pleasing mild red flesh and non tart skin.

Frontier:  Dark skin with reddish flesh.  Sweet and juicy when ripe and non tart skin.

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

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

Mariposa:  Mottled skin with red and white flesh.  Juicy and sweet. Tip tends to get very juicy before rest of the plum gets soft.  Great flavor and texture.

Kelsey:  Some like it hard and some like it with a little give.  This is a green skinned plum with yellow flesh.  It is surprisingly sweet.

 Peaches:

    Gene Elberta:  Yellow freestone peach.  Juicy and sweet with great flavor and texture.

    Silver Logan:  White freestone peach.  Sweet, juicy, with mild tang.

     Sugar Lady:   White fleshed peach with dark skin.  Mild flavor but sweet.

     Babcock:  White freestone peach.  Can be enjoyed hard or soft.  Sweet with distinct pleasing flavor. 

     Bowen:   Not a freestone.  This is a cling peach.  The flesh is firm and sticks to the pit.  Eat out of hand or carve the flesh off the pit.  When cooked or added to salads it will retain its firmness. Sweet and less juicy than freestone peaches.

Blackberries: These are wild blackberries hand picked by our experienced harvester.  They are sweet and tasty.   Due to the heat this summer their season may be shorter than usual.

Figs:  Black Mission, Brown Turkey and Panache.

Grapes: 

        Kyoho grapes are dark skinned seeded grapes with intense flavor.

        Thompson Seedless :  Small yellow seedless sweet grapes.

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.

Valencia Oranges:  These oranges have thin skin and high juice content. Used for  juicing or fresh eating.  Slice them in half and cut them into smiles.😋

Persimmon:  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp.

Summer Squash:  Green and yellow zucchini. Very fresh and easy to cook. (limited supply)

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.

Sungold cherry tomatoes:  Sweet orange cherry tomatoes.  Fruity flavor. The most popular cherry tomato at our farm for years. 

Sweet peppers:  Limited Supply

Chili peppers: Limited Supply

Japanese eggplant:  Limited Supply

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

Basil:  Fresh from our garden.

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.

Here is what we have from other producers:

Mihara Farm in Newcastle, conventional practices:

    Ruby Red Garapefruit: Pink fleshed grapefruit 

     Kiwi

Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, conventional practices:

      Suncrest peaches:  Yellow freestone peaches with streaks of red flesh. Sweet and juicy.

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay. No spray practices.

         Black Mission Figs: Sweet and flavorful.

         Black and yellow seedless grapes:  sweet and juicy.

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay, organic practices:

    White Onions and Garlic

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.