NOT WINTER BUT SUMMER

 It's not winter, so hoshigaki season is on the back burner. It is still available at the farm stand but not through mail order.  And now we switch our attention to things of summer like stone fruit and veggies.

The peach season has started but it seems that they sell almost as soon as they are brought into the farm stand.  Don't worry, much more is on the way.  A few lucky customers were able to snag some of the Springrose or Springcrest peaches.  There will soon be Maycrest and Junecrest.  Then we will start harvesting Flavorcrest and Regina peaches.  

Apricots are happy this year.  I'm not sure why but something in the weather we were handed was agreeable to them.  Robada and Royal Rosa apricots sold out quickly.  Now we are bring in Blenheim (Royal) and Patterson.  Both are excellent varieties.

It is an unusual year. Not only do we have a good harvest of apricots but there are also respectable nectarines on the trees.  Meaning they are not quite as scarred up and cracked as we normally have.  There will be a limited amount of white Jade nectarines in the near future.

Loquats are now producing small, sweet and juicy fruit.  Between the large brown seed and the firm yellow skin is sweet juicy flesh.

SANTA ROSA plums are starting ripen.  These are the most popular and sought after variety of plums. They  have a distinctive flavor and enticing fragrance. They are both sweet and  sour at the beginning of the season.  Later ones are all sweet and juicy.  

We are now offering flowers.  The fresh flower bouquets are coming from La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis. The bouquets are garden fresh and contain colorful in-season blooms.  Come check them out.

Slowly the gardens are starting to produce.  Green and yellow summer squash have both made their debut.  A few Sungold cherry tomatoes are getting ready.  Sorry, but big tomatoes and cucumber are weeks away.

 Last fall we dried and massaged persimmons to make hoshigaki.  The ones that did not sell were stored in the freezer.  We will be slowly selling these at the farm stand.  Most of the hoshigaki that we will be selling are firmer or not as sugared as we like.  Nonetheless they retain the favor of hoshigaki.  We cut firmer hoshigaki  into strips and are sold in snack bags.  All this this say hoshigaki is not available through mail order at this time.  Most likely mail order will be available late November and December.  People are encouraged to look for the 2025 Mail order form in October and send their order in early.

 

 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.

Apricots:

 Patterson:  This apricot has good flavor and can be used for canning, baking drying and fresh eating.  When ripened it is both flavorful and sweet with tangy background. 

Blenheim (Royal): Old and very popular variety. Although small, this variety is aromatic and full of flavor.  Don't be fooled by the greenish shoulders the Blenheim is juicy and sweet with tangy background. Customers keep coming back for them. Blenheims are used for canning baking, drying and fresh eating.

Loquat:  A subtropical fruit popularized in Asia.  Loquat are small round or pear-shaped fruit that grow in clusters.  They are covered with a downy orange skin. The flesh is also orange containing 2 to 4 oval brown seeds.  The taste is tangy, sweet and juicy. We often refer to these as memory fruit.  Children walking to school would sampling them from landscape trees along their route to school.

 

PEACHES

 Maycrest:  Yellow freestone peach.

Junecrest: Yellow freestone peach.

Flavorcrest: Yellow freestone peach.

Regina: Yellow freestone peach.

PLUMS

Santa Rosa:  Old sought after variety for their rich aromatic flavor.  Early season Santa Rosa have yellow flesh that is sweet tart. Late season Santa Rosa have red flesh and are all sweet.  Soon their fragrance will fill our farm stand. They are great for fresh eating and have been known to win jam contest for their flavor and sweet tart contrast.

  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 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.

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.

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

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:  We have a few peach trees for planting.  Regina peaches are  a yellow freestone peach that is harvested around the end of June. 

Pakistani Mulberries:  Long dark mulberries. Very sweet. Available only to those on the request list. Call to get on the list.

Summer Squash:

Green and Yellow Zucchini.

Yellow crookneck  

Here is what we have from other producers:

Stoney Point Orchard,  Loomis, CA organic certified:

    Rio Red Grapefruit:   Juicy and sweet with a bit of tartness. Flesh is pink.

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 Otow Orchard hours for Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2024

Shortened hours for just one day.

                Thurs. Nov 28:   Open 11:00 am   Closed  3:00 pm

 

🍑🍎🍏🍅🥒🍐

We love this time of year.  A time of remembering so many who have helped us have a successful year and business.  A big THANK YOU  to customers, workers, family and friends  who are faithful to support us through long hot summers and on cold and sometimes very wet days.  

💖 👫 👪 🙏 👷🚜

WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU.  HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY. 

Regular hours will resume on Friday Nov. 29, 2024. 

 

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.

Persimmon: 

    Hachiya:  Popular persimmon.  Until soft it is very astringent.  Hachiya are tall and pointed like an acorn.  These are often used in cookies, breads, and puddings.  Many people enjoy just eating them out of hand or pairing them with ice cream, smoothies, or oatmeal.  This is also the variety most commonly used to make hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmons).   Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp is also available.  

    Gyombo, (Giombo) :  Similar to Hachiya. These can not be eaten when hard.  They become soft and very sweet with time.  More liquid y but sweeter than Hachiya persimmons.  More mild flavor.

    Fuyu:  Very popular persimmon. They are always sweet and usually eaten hard like an apple.  Fuyu can also be sliced or added to salads.  As we go through the season they get bigger and sweeter and the skin goes from yellow to orange.

     Maru:  Sweet, round, brown fleshed persimmon. Can be eaten hard and crunchy or when it is softer and sweeter. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. 

    Nagamaru, Tsurunoko, Chocolate:  Three names.  Sweet, dark brown fleshed persimmon.  It is orange skinned and a tall oblong shape.  Can be enjoyed hard or more soft.  Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝. Whether pollinated or not, Nagamaru will be sweet when soft. 

    Hyakume:  This persimmon is often referred to  as cinnamon due to its light coloration and speckles  in the flesh.  Tasty with nice sweet flavor.   Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet.  We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss.  😝.  The Hyakume that we suspect are more astringent are treated with vodka to make them sweet. 😋

Pomegranates:

    White Pomegranates:  Light skinned with pink arils.  Sweet with small core.

    Red Wonderful Pomegranates:  Traditional pomegranates with sweet tart, deep red arils.

    Ambrosia Pomegranates: Pink skinned with pink arils.  Sweet tart arils. (Limited supply.)

 

Apples:

    Granny Smith:  Light green skin over white flesh.  Sweet, tart, and crisp.  Great for cooking and baking.  It retains its shape.  Also enjoyed eaten out of hand. 

Quince:  Firm yellow fruit, always tart, wonderfully aromatic.  Used for jam, jelly, candy, and sauce due to its high pectin content. Often added to stews.

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.

         Okusankichi:  Large brown Asian pear. Crisp and juicy.  This is a winter keeper and is not as sweet as the earlier varieties.  Very refreshing. Thick skin with course white flesh. Flavor improves with storage.

 

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. Early season hoshigaki is currently 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, click on the Hoshigaki/Persimmons tab at the top of this blog post to get the mail order form.

Winter Squash:

         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.  

    Acorn: Green or orange skin with longitudinal ridges.  It has sweet yellow orange flesh inside.

Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, and Buena Mulata.

    Tomatillos: Look like a green tomato in a papery husk.  Often used in salsa, sauces and soups. Can be sliced into salads.  (Limited supply.)

Local Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Honey is an easy, local, and practical gift idea.

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

Here is what we have from other producers:

Pleasant Hill Farm:  in Lincoln.

     Satsuma Mandarins:  Easy to peel, sweet mandarins from the foothills of Placer County.  You will find both the regular yellow orange skinned variety and the reddish orange skinned mandarins. The yellow ones are citrus y sweet/tarp full of juice.  The red ones are more mild with less tartness.

Sunnyslope Farm  in Granite Bay, conventional farming:

    Granny Smith Apples:  Light green skin over white flesh.  Sweet, tart, and crisp.  Great for cooking and baking.  It retains its shape when cooked. Also enjoyed eaten out of hand or added to salads.

WoodRose Country Garden
 in Granite Bay, organic practices:

        Arugula: spicy aromatic greens (Limited supply.)

        Sweet peppers:  Green, orange and purple skinned.

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

Mihara Farm in Lincoln, conventional farming:

    Chestnuts 

 

 

 

 

Master Gardener's 2025 calendar:  This is a gardener's companion calendar.  It tells how to cared for your garden and gives a timeline of suggested garden activities. (Limited Supply.)

 

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

 

 Blossom season is about over and we are seeing little leaves starting to open up.  We had a lot of rain for an extended amount of time.  Fruit set may have been affected.  Leaf curl on peaches will definitely be bad as will fire blight on pears. Between rains we are now starting to graft trees.  With all the rain, hail, wind and cold mornings we are not likely to have many good looking ume.  All said, we are still thankful for the rain.  The trees are alive and they will not survive this summer without water. 

The hot house is full of young tomato plants. They are growing but they have missed the sun.  And when  we took them out to enjoy a day of sun they we too tender.  Looks like we burned a few.  I'm hoping they are resilient.

 Hoshigaki is still available at the farm stand and through mail order.  For mail orders  please click on  mail order form here.mail order form

  For months we had no eggs.  Now the chickens are producing.  Their production is ramping up. Our eggs are coming from a farm in Loomis, CA, 5 miles away.  They are fed no soy, no GMO and spend the day in a pasture eating bugs and grass.  If you are interested in farm eggs now is the time to get them since we have so few produce customers.  In the summertime the demand for them is often much higher than the supply.

The Farm Stand is now on modified winter hours.  Short hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Regular hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.    Please call to arrange for other options (916) 300-0720.

HEADS UP:  There is a sign at Eureka and Barton Road.  "CLOSED FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION. 2/13 TO 4/28".  I believe it is a water project.  At the present time you are allowed to get to our driveway from Barton Road onto Eureka.  Just tell the person directing traffic that you are going to the farm.

 

 SLOW SEASON HOURS

TUES, WED, TH:   11:30 TO 1:30

        FRI, SAT:        10:0 TO 6:00

               SUN:        11:00 TO 5:00

CLOSED ON MONDAYS

 

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

Hoshigaki:  These are whole dried persimmons.  They were hand massages while they dried over a period of four to 8 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.  You may purchase these at our farm stand or order them using our mail order form..

Yellow Grapefruit:   Flavorful and juicy.  Sweet tart with a wonderfully bitter background.

Eureka Lemons:  These are the tart lemons.  Great for lemonade or Lemon Meringue Pie.

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

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm 

Walnuts:  English (limited supply)

Dehydrated mandarins, oranges and lemons

 

Here is what we have from other producers:

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

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

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay (no spray): Meyer Lemons: These are fragrant and tasty lemons.  They are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.   They are favored because they are lower in acidity and  sweeter than the regular lemon.

Bees collecting nectar from Rosemary bush.

 

WIND AND RAIN

Fall weather  is definitely here.  Leaves suddenly changed from green to brilliant orange.  With the predicted wind rain and cool temps the leaves will quickly fall away.  Over the weekend, people enjoyed walking in the orchard.

      We are so thankful for the wet weather.  The earth  is so thirsty.  As a result of the rain we have many split pomegranates, and Hachiya  persimmons. The Fuyu persimmons are starting to show black lines, and the apples are cracking.  We are on high alert to prevent mold on the hoshigaki. Nonetheless we are thankful for the moisture.  Such is the challenge of farming. 

      With the cooler weather the summer vegetables have disappeared.  We are only harvesting a few winter squash.  Also WoodRose Country Garden has finished for now.

       In the foothills mandarins are coloring and early ones are being harvested.  We are getting a supply of mandarins from Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln, a conventional farm.

HOURS:

Tues. through Sat.      10:00  am to 6:00 pm           

 

          Sunday         11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Brown Asian Pears: Shinko,  Okusankichi, and Olympic.  These pears are sweet, juicy, and crisp

European pear: 🍐Comice

Apples:  🍏 Granny Smith, 🍎 Fuji, and 🍎Pink Lady

Quince: Yellow fruit in the pear/apple family.  Seldom eaten raw.  It can be baked like apples or sauced like apples. High in pectin, they are often used for jelly and Dulce de Membrillo (Quince candy).  Naturally sour but full of aroma and flavor, can be added to stews.

White Pomegranates:  These light skinned pomegranates have sweet pink arils.

Red Pomegranates:  These pomegranates have dark red arils that  are sweet and tangy. A brilliant taste.     

A bird enjoyed this one.

Persimmons:

Hachiya and Gyombo :   These persimmons must be very soft to be enjoyed.  They are sweet and succulent.  They can be eaten out of hand, added to cereal, yogurt, or smoothies. These are used in baking  cookies, breads, and puddings. 

Chocolate Persimmons:  Maru, Nagamaru (tsurunoko, chocolate), and Hyakume arebrown fleshed persimmons that can be eaten hard or softening.  If they are successfully pollinated in the spring they will turn brown fleshed and sweet.

Fuyu:  These popular yellow fleshed persimmons are always sweet.  Normally enjoyed when they are hard and firm.

Vodka Persimmons:  These are brown or orange fleshed persimmons treated with Vodka to insure sweetness. 

Hoshigaki:  Tender and moist dried persimmons with naturally formed dusting of fruit sugars on the surface.  These were hand massaged and  dried slowly for 4 to 8 weeks.

Vegetables:    Limited supply of: Summer squash, chilies, and tomatillos.  Winter squash: Butternut, Black Futsu and Kabocha.

Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard.

Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard

⚘ Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Here is what we have from other producers:

Sunnyslope Farm:  Granny Smith Apples

Pleasant Hill Farm in Lincoln: Satsuma Mandarins

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

Two Feather Farm:  🐔🥚  Eggs.  Egg production is slowing down. 

Jams 🍑 from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum, Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Fig Brandy, Pepper Pomegranate, and Quince Marmalade.

Royal Oaks Farm:  Luffa Soap:  Hand made and great for scrubbing and exfoliating your skin. Lavendar, eucalyptus, and cucumber melon fragrances.

 

GIVE US ANOTHER MONTH

Immature ume

 

Immature Loquat

       Customers are coming to the orchard asking for peaches, plums, loquat and mulberries.  I tell them "Give us another month."  These future crops look good for now but are still very green and small.  We are still in danger of damage from a a hail storm or a late freeze.  Rain however would still be welcome.

 I am taking orders for ume, Japanese sour plums. Please see the April 7, 2021 entry below for ume details. Looks like the harvest will be from mid May through June.  Please call (916)791-1656 or email: otoworchard@yahoo.com  if you will be picking up your order at the orchard. 

For mail orders, please use page 2 of the 2020 Mail Order form to send us your order information and check.  We ship 8 pounds of ume in a USPS priority mail box.  The cost is $111 per box.  This includes shipping and handling.

       Hoshigaki is available at the farm stand.   With the temperature rising, we are keeping it in the refrigerator or freezer.   The time is coming when temperatures will affect the quality of hoshigaki sent by mail.  At this time we can still send them. Please use our mail order form if you want to order hoshigaki through the mail.

SLOW SEASON HOURS:

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

 

Friday and Saturday        10 am to 6 pm           

 

          Sunday         11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Hoshigaki:  Tender and moist dried persimmons with naturally formed dusting of fruit sugars on the surface.  These were hand massaged and  dried slowly for 4 to 8 weeks.

Eureka Lemons: deep yellow skin and tart juicy flesh.  🍋 Best  lemons to bring out the brightness desired in  lemonade and lemon meringue pie.

Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard

Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Dehydrated peaches

Herbs: fresh mint, rosemary, thyme, and sage

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay: Fresh 🥗 Romaine Lettuce, Red Romaine. Red Leaf Lettuce, Butter Crunch Lettuce, cauliflower and green onions.

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay:  Comb honey  can be used in tea, coffee, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, fruit salads and on toast or bagels.  Top of the Hill Apiary also has Bees wax. 🐝

Nastase Honey Farm in Lincoln:  This Honey 🍯 is unfiltered and raw.

Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay:  🐔🥚  Eggs.  Egg production is up.  The hens are well rested and are happy with warmer weather and longer days. 🌞

Jams 🍑 from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, and Chili Blackberry.

SLOW SEASON HOURS

We often recognize January or February as the beginning of a new year. Out in the orchard the new year is starting now. Buds are swelling on the bare fruit trees, soon there will be blossoms. The days are getting longer and the temperatures are starting to rise. Trees sense these as signals of the start for the crops we will be harvesting this summer and fall.  In the hot house, little tomato plants are starting to push out of their tiny seeds.

In the farm stand we are selling grapefruit, oranges lemons, kiwi, honey, jam and hoshigaki.  WoodRose Country Garden is bringing us fresh Romaine and also Red Leaf lettuce.

We continue to process and sell hoshigaki, dried persimmons. These can be purchased at the farm or by sending us a mail order form.

Slow Season Hours are starting March 2, 2021.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday hours will remain the same.  But Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday hours will be changed to 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. If you need to stop by outside of these hours you are welcome to contact us since we are often at the farm somewhere.   If we are near the farm stand we will answer the land line: (916) 791-1656. If we are out in the orchard or garden it is best to text or leave a message on my cell phone since I do not answer unrecognized calls.  (916) 300-0720.

SLOW SEASON HOURS:

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

 

Friday and Saturday        10 am to 6 pm           

 

          Sunday         11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Hachiya persimmon pulp:   Frozen.  Used for  fresh eating and baking.  These are the persimmons that are often referred to as "food of the gods".  Great in smoothies and on cereal or yogurt.

Hoshigaki:  Tender and moist dried persimmons with naturally formed dusting of fruit sugars on the surface.  These were hand massaged and  dried slowly for 4 to 8 weeks.

Grapefruit:  These are the yellow fleshed, very flavorful grapefruit. 

Kiwi: 🥝 Sweet tart fruit, high in vitamin C and dietary fiber.

Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard

Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Pecans

Dehydrated peaches

Here is what we have from other producers:

WoodRose Country Garden in Granite Bay: Fresh Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce.

Lupi Farm in Granite Bay: Meyer lemons 🍋 are deep yellow with fragrant thin skin.  They are sweeter than common lemons. Used to brighten water, tea, poultry dishes and vegetables.  The rind is also used in food preparation .

Top O' the Hill Apiary in Granite Bay:  Comb honey  can be used in tea, coffee, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, fruit salads and on toast or bagels.  Top of the Hill Apiary also has Bees wax. 🐝

Nastase Honey Farm in Lincoln:  This Honey 🍯 is unfiltered and raw.  It is light and so delicious.

Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay:  🐔🥚  Eggs.  Egg production is starting to ramp up.  The hens are well rested and are happy with warmer weather and longer days. 🌞

Jams 🍑 from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, and Chili Blackberry.

TIME TO ORDER HOSHIGAKI

 

The Hachiya persimmons are beginning to show their beautiful orange complexion. And so the Hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmon) process has begun.   We are peeling hundreds of them a day and carefully hanging them by their stems in the sun.   The first few have been massaged and are ripening and shriveling.  Soon they will develop sugar on the surface.

Hoshigaki from the previous season are available at the farm stand while the supply lasts. Early season hoshigaki may be available in November.  The best hoshigaki may not be available until late November and December. If you want to pick up premium hoshigaki from the current season, it is best to get on the waiting list.  These hoshigaki will probably be available is December.  You can call (916) 791-1656 or email us at:  otoworchard@yahoo.com. For mail orders, please go to our website and use our order form.

Along with many of our customers we are awaiting Fuyu (apple type)persimmons. The color and maturity is not quite there yet.  We are hoping to have Fuyu persimmons from the last 2 weeks of October through November.  Meanwhile, we are selling soft ripe hachiya persimmons for eating out of hand or for baking.  Brown fleshed persimmons are also starting their harvest. We have Maru, Nagamaru (also called Tsurunoko and Chocolate), and Hyakume.

It is Apple and Asian pear season.  We have Fuji aples from our orchard and Mutsu (similar to Golden Delicious) apples from Sunnyslope Farm.  We have 3 varieties of brown Asian pears: Shinko, Okusankichi and Olympic.

This time of year we are also harvesting jujube, red and white pomegranates, and quince.  We are getting winter squash from the garden:  Delicata, Kabocha, Black Futsu, and Red Kuri.  WoodRose Country Garden is bringing us eggplant, peppers and basil.

Although the song makes us think of chestnuts as a holiday treat, Placer County chestnuts are falling off the trees.  We just received a delivery of big beautiful chestnuts from Mihara Farm in Newcastle.  My advice is to pierce each one, soak overnight in cold water, then boil the next morning for  20 minutes.  Peel as soon as cool enough to handle.

 

HOURS:

Tues through Sat   10 am to 6 pm

Sun.                       11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Grapes:

        Kyoho: Purple, seeded grapes with concord-like flavor

Hoshigaki:  whole

Jujube:  Li, GA 688

Asian Pears:  Shinko, Okusankichi, Olympic

Apples:  Fuji

Pomegranates: White and Red

Brown fleshed Persimmons: Maru, Nagamaru, Hyakume

Hachiya persimmons: Must be soft to be sweet

Quince
Honey and bee pollen from bees at Otow Orchard
Calendula Salve and Lip Balm
Cucumbers:  Asian (limited supply)
Okra

Chili peppers

Winter squash:  Delicata, Kabocha, Black Futsu, Red Kuri

Persimmon Pulp


Here is what we have from other producers: 

Sunnyslope Farm: Ganny Smith, Mutsu apples, conventionally grown. Fresh eating or cooking with sweet/tart flavor. Similar to Gloden Delicious.

Mihara Farm: Chestnuts, conventionally grown

Wood Rose Country Garden: American eggplant, basil, bell peppers
Top O' the Hill Apiary:  Honey, and comb honey
Eggs from Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay
Jams from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, Chili Blackberry, and Quince Marmalade