MULBERRY SEASON HAS STARTED

 More produce is showing up sooner than I thought.  Maybe this will be an early year for summer fruits.  We have started to harvest peaches, plums, pluots and apricots.

   Winter vegetables are still with us as we get summer veggies planted.  I found that it is a bit tricky planning to put several crops into the same ground in succession.  For example, the row that was producing radishes and turnips last month are now planted with tomatoes.  And because we grew lettuce in  a different spot, we were able to plant eggplant.  And since seed potatoes arrived late we have to find a new place for the chili peppers.  

 

As we get more supply, the slow season hours will extend to later in the afternoon.  Look for the "OPEN / CLOSED" signs at the entrance to the driveway. 

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.

VEGETABLES:

Komatsuna:  Tender leafy green vegetable, thought of as a Japanese spinach.  Taste is more like bok choy, mild with slight mustard flavor.  Can be added to salad, stir-fries, and soup. 

 Beets:  Vibrant red and healthy root vegetable. Often boiled, roasted or pickled.  Can also be eaten raw.  The leaves are also desired for saute, and adding to soups and stews.  

Carrots:  They are NOT big, long and tough 🥕.  The carrots are tender, slender, sweet and tasty.  

 Salad Greens:  We have a tender mix of leafy green and baby romaine lettuces.

Sugar Snap Peas:  Fresh, crisp, and juicy. These sweet and crunchy peas can be enjoyed raw or gently cooked. Can be used for garnish.

 Broccolini:  similar to broccoli but milder and sweeter.  The florets  leaves and stems are all edible in stir fries, sauteed, grilled, steamed, roasted, and raw.

FRUIT:

Flavorrosa pluot:  Early, dark skinned pluot with red flash. It has a sweet fragrant flavor (limited supply).

Royal Rosa apricot:  This early season apricot is tasty, sweet and juicy (limited supply).

Loquat:  This early season tropical fruit is sweet and refreshing.  It is small and juicy with sweet mild flavor.  Texture is similar to ripe pears.  Contain a large seed.

 

Spring Rose white peach: Small but amazingly tasty, sweet and juicy peach (limited supply).

Red Beaut plum:  Early season plum. Juicy and yellow fleshed (limited supply).

Pakistani Mulberries:  Long stemmed, dark mulberries.  They are sweet and juicy (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!

 

Valencia:  These are juicing oranges but most people just peel and eat like any other orange. They are sweet and very juicy.

UME:  Japanese Sour plum. (Limited supply). Processed with salt, alcohol or sweetener.

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:

Arrow Place, Auburn, 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 is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.

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

 

 

LITTLE FRUITLETS

Plums

 We are looking forward to the summer crops.   On my most recent walk in the orchard, I saw little green plums, peaches, apricots, and Asian Pears on  the trees.  Hopefully these will be blessed with good weather till maturity.  

Peaches

Asian Pears

Apricots

The ume (Japanese sour plum) crop looks better than usual.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Not much damage yet and a decent crop.  All that can change in the event of a hail storm or freeze. 

 

The garden is producing fresh veggies. We are selling salad mix with baby romaine and leaf lettuces.  Beets are on their way.  Turnips are about finished.  We have little carrot greens rising above the soil and potatoes just got planted.  There is a small stand of sugar snap peas.  I am beginning to see a few flowers. Unfortunately, it will be a small crop of snap peas this year. If the warm weather holds, we will begin to plant summer vegetables like squash, tomatoes and cucumbers.

 

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.

Vegetables:

Arugula:    Popular and tasty leafy green.  Popular in salads, stir fries, and on pizza. Young arugula is more mild. Mature leaves are often desired for their strong spicy flavor.

Komatsuna:  Tender leafy green vegetable, thought of as a Japanese spinach.  Taste is more like bok choy, mild with slight mustard flavor.  Can be added to salad, stir-fries, and soup. 

 

Turnips:    Turnips are a versatile vegetable.  Young turnips can be eaten raw in salads or with dips. Cooked turnips become tender and mild. They can be added to stir-fries, soup, stew, mashed or roasted.  The leaves can be cooked in stir-fries, soup, stew and with a bit of meat or eggs. Turnips and their leaves can also be pickled.

Salad Greens:  We have a tender mix of leafy green and baby romaine lettuces.

 

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!

 

CITRUS:

Valencia:  These are juicing oranges but most people just peel and eat like any other orange. They are sweet and very juicy.

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.

 

Looks like snow or hail but it is olive blossoms on the ground.

 

Olive tree in bloom.

Honey bees visiting persimmon 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.

 

ALMOST THERE

Thank you to so many new and regular customers for checking in on us during our slow season, February through May.  Offerings have been scant for a few months but it looks like we will have a plentiful supply of summer fruits.  The season will be starting with mulberries and ume by the end of May.  Apricots, loquat, peaches and plums will start in June.  Meanwhile we are still selling grapefruit, lemons, Valencia oranges and kiwi.

During this slow season we have been preparing summer vegetable gardens.  I am battling gophers and bind weed.  Hope to get a handle on this soon.  We are planting tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, peppers and okra.  All are starting to fill in the garden spaces. 

Now that new trees are in the ground our attention turns back to our existing trees.  With a heavy fruit set, we are busy every day thinning out the crop to increase size and remove blemished fruit.  We are happy with water we received during the rain season.  The trees look like they are taking a big refreshing gulp of water. The weeds are also growing like weeds. Unfortunately our mower is feeling its age.  One thing gets fixed and then another part needs replacing.  And so it goes.

 We continue to have a supply of hoshigaki (Japanese dried persimmons) in the freezer.  These are sweet and tender with traditional persimmon flavor.  They are coated  with hoshigaki sugar.  A sweet treat.  They are available at the farm stand and through mail order.  For mail order, please use our mail order form.

At this point it looks like the ume (Japanese plum) have dodged hail and freezing temperatures.  The crop looks good but as always, still some blemishes.  Please email at: otoworchard@yahoo.com or call us at (916) 791-1656 if you are interested in purchasing ume.  Harvest will begin in mid May and finish by mid June.

      Just a reminder,  at this time of year our hours are limited. Please take note. Outside of these hours, you are welcome to call me at (916) 300-0720 to ask if I can meet you.  You will have to leave a message if your number is not already identified in my phone.  We are often at the farm somewhere, just not in the farm stand.

REDUCED HOURS

Tues, Wed, Thurs:     11:30  to  1:30

Fri, and Sat:       10:00  to  6:00

Sunday:      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 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 began peeling persimmons in October.  We peeled the last persimmons at the beginning of December. 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.  For mail orders please use our mail order form  for the 2023 season.

Valencia Oranges:  These oranges have thin skin and high juice content. Used for  juicing or fresh eating.

Persimmon:  Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp.

Apricots:   Royal Rosa:  early apricot.  Mild apricot flavor, not as sweet as later varieties.  

Loquat:  Small but sweet and juicy with a citrus background.

Ume:   Often referred to as Japanese plums (They are more closely related to apricots.) Ume are sour and must be pickled to be enjoyed.

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:

Stoney Point Orchard in Loomis, Certified Organic:

Ruby Red Grapefruit:  Sweet-tart and juicy with pink flesh. Great flavor.

Valencia Oranges:  very juicy and sweet. Great for juicing or slicing.

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

EARLY SPRING

     Chickens have poor timing.  Our orchard crops are resting or just getting started on  the next growing season.  Chickens on the other hand, have been resting since November and have now started to produce.  We are getting eggs from La Bella Vito farm in Loomis.  Their chickens are raised on a pasture and get supplemental feed that is free of soy, corn and GMOs.  It is best to call ahead to ask about availability.  (916) 791-1656.

 

      The Ume, Japanese sour plum (apricot), crop looks promising at this point.  We hope the weather will cooperate and abstain from freezing temperatures and hail.  This fruit must be processed to be enjoyed. Traditionally, ume is pickled with salt, sugar, honey or alcohol.  If you are interested in purchasing ume, please email at otoworchard@yahoo.com or give us a call at (916) 791-1656.

        As you can see in the photos, the trees are doing their own thing.  Apples are blossoming, peaches are showing little tiny fuzzy fruit, and nectarines are struggling with leaf curl 😞.

 

      Just a reminder,  at this time of year our hours are limited. Please take note. Outside of these hours, you are welcome to call me at (916) 300-0720 to ask if I can meet you.  You will have to leave a message if your number is not already identified in my phone.  We are often at the farm somewhere, just not in the farm stand.

REDUCED HOURS

Tues, Wed, Thurs:     11:30  to  1:30

Fri, and Sat:       10:00  to  6:00

Sunday:      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 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 began peeling persimmons in October.  We peeled the last persimmons at the beginning of December. 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.  For mail orders please use our mail order form  for the 2023 season.

Yellow Grapefruit:  Sweet tart and a bit bitter. Very tasty.

Persimmons:

    Hachya : Frozen persimmon pulp.

Kiwi:  Fuzzy brown skin over  green flesh speckled with black seeds.

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. Limited supply.

Here is what we have from other producers:

Lupi Farm  in Granite Bay, no spray:  Meyer Lemons:  Tasty and flavorful lemons, low in acid.

Stoney Point Orchard in Loomis, Certified Organic:

Ruby Red Grapefruit:  Sweet-tart and juicy with pink flesh. Great flavor.

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