Sierra Foothills Producers Cooperative

The Sierra Foothills Producers Cooperative will make their August delivery at our orchard on Friday, Aug. 17th.  Orders must be received online by Friday, Aug 10th.  Through the Producers Cooperative you can order locally  and naturally raised beef, lamb, chicken,  and other local products such as eggs, cheese, honey, olive oil, jam, sauces and  produce. The name has recently been changed from the "Meat Buyers Club" since so many other local products are available too. If the Otow Orchard delivery isn't a convenient place or time, there are also deliveries in Auburn, Penryn, Truckee and Kings Beach.

Ripe Suncrest on sale

A flat of Suncrest Peaches

Suncrest peaches and white peaches are now at a reduced price at the fruit stand. Right now we have lots of these delicious peaches, but we won't for long, since they're ripe and fragile.

New at the fruit stand are Laroda and Eldorado plums, melons, pink grapefruit, tomatillos, onions and hardneck garlic.

Here's what's at the fruit stand now:  

• Peaches--Suncrest, Red Haven, Gene Elberta, 49'er, Delight (all yellow varieties), Arctic White, White Lady, Babcock, Silver Logan (white varieties)  
• Plums--Santa Rosa, Black Amber, Laroda, Eldorado, Frontier 
• Melons--Galia, Durango 
• Blackberries--wild from around the orchard 
• Grapefruit--pink and white 
• Vegetables--Tomatoes (regular, cherry, heirlooms), Zucchini, Summer Squash, Swiss chard, Eggplant (small Japanese and small Italian types), Cucumber (Japanese, Armenian, lemon), beans (green and Chinese long), peppers (sweet and hot), garlic (elephant and hardneck), onions (Extra large red and white) 
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint, Basil (cut if you ask) 
• Honey--from bees at our orchard 
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax
• The Art of Real Food Cookbook--by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenney

Tomatoes & Suncrest Peaches

Tomatoes are finally in at the fruit stand. They were a bit late this year, but now finally we have enough ripe tomatoes to put out in boxes to sell. We have regular red tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes and some heirlooms. 

We also have Suncrest peaches at the fruit stand.  Suncrest peaches are juicy and flavorful yellow peaches with red steaks on the skin and inside.  Suncrest peaches are part of the Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste, meaning that they're a rare older variety that's in danger of not being produced or available for sale any longer.  They're delicious with fragile soft skin and flesh and a short shelf life which makes it difficult to ship them. David Mas Masumoto wrote about his family's effort to save this peach and their farm in the book, Epitaph for a Peach.  You can read more about his farm and community activities here.

Vegetables & White Peaches

Long beans in Obaachan's garden

We've been harvesting more vegetables from the gardens.  The recent hot weather has helped out the eggplant, peppers and beans and finally started ripening the tomatoes.  We haven't picked very many tomatoes yet, but there are still lots on the vines starting to turn red. 

New vegetables at the fruit stand are elephant garlic, hard neck garlic, large red and white onions and Chinese long beans.

There are a lot of white peaches at the fruit stand now, including Babcock, Silver Logan, Sugar Lady, White Lady, Arctic White and white donut varieties.   

All plums are still 20% off at the fruit stand, through Wednesday, July 18th. 

All Plums on Sale

Left to Right are Black Amber, Frontier, Santa Rosa, Satsuma and Beauty Plums.

For the next two weeks all plums at the fruit stand will be 20% off regular price. We have too many plums to fit in our fruit sand and cool room, so we hope customers will come help us out by taking advantage of the sale.

Here are the plum varieties we have:

• Santa Rosa Plums--An favorite old-fashioned plum that's flavorful, sweet with a bit of tartness and fragrant.  Great for eating fresh or making jam.
• Satsuma Plums--A Japanese variety of plum with a red jelly-like inside that's sweet and mild without tartness.  Also good for making jam because they have a lot of natural pectin. 
• Black Amber Plums--A large, juicy, sweet plum with dark purple to black skin and yellow flesh. Eaten fresh or used in baking for cobblers or pies.   
• Frontier Plums--Large plums with dark red skin and red flesh inside.  Sweet and a bit heart-shaped. 
• Beauty Plums--Sweet, juicy and smaller plums with yellow flesh.  Also an old variety people might remember.

Again, for the next two weeks through July 17th, all plums are 20% off regular price. We have plum seconds available for making jam or baking, also.  If you'd like large quantities, please call ahead to order.  Our phone number is 916-791-1656.

We are also still giving out coupons.  If you spend $10.00 or more, you receive a coupon for $1.00 off fruits and vegetables to use on your next visit.

Fruit Stand and Meat Buyers Club

A Santa Rosa Plum

The next delivery from the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club to our orchard will be Friday, June 20th from 4:30-5:00.  Orders must be sent in by 5:00 PM Friday, June 13th.  Through the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club you can order local grass-fed, hormone free beef, lamb, pork and chicken, as well as eggs, honey, olive oil, jams and mandarin products.  New this month are goat cheese, summer squash and cucumber.  Orders are made online and then you choose one of four locations to pick up your order.  Locations are Otow Orchard (in Granite Bay), Sinclair Family Farm (in Penryn), Smoky's (in Truckee) and Tahoe Wellness (in Kings Beach).  


The fruit stand is full of fruit now.  We now have Black Mission figs, Blackberries, nectarines and Donut peaches.  Donut peaches are flat with a tiny pit in the middle.  


Here's what's at the Fruit Stand now:  

• Blackberries
• Figs--Black Mission
• Peaches--Flavorcrest, Regina, Red Haven (all yellow varieties), Donut and Babcock (white varieties)
• Plums--Santa Rosa, Black Amber, Satsuma, Beauty, Frontier
• Nectarines--Jade (white variety)
• Apricots--Patterson and Blenheim
• Citrus Fruit--white Grapefruit, Valencia Oranges
• Vegetables--Zucchini, Summer Squash, Swiss chard, Eggplant, Cucumber
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint, Basil (cut if you ask)
• Honey--from bees at our orchard
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax

Santa Rosa Plums

We now have Santa Rosa plums at the fruit stand.  Santa Rosa plums are fragrant and sweet with a bit of tartness that gives them a distinct flavor.  They're yellow inside with dark red to purple skin.  We have a lot of very ripe Santa Rosas that are good for making flavorful jam as well as for just eating fresh.

Beauty plums have are also at the fruit stand.  Beauty plums are an old variety of plum that used to be packed and sent to the fruit shed in Loomis a lot of years ago.  Now just a few Beauty trees are left in the orchard.

Some of the Frontier plums have been picked, too.  Frontier plums are sweet and red inside with a red to purple skin.

Early Peaches

A sign that summer is here--the first peaches, zucchini, and apricots have been picked and are now available at the fruit stand. We have peaches from us and also from our neighbors, the Koyamas.  New also are handmade 100% beeswax candles made from beeswax that comes from bees at our orchard.  The one-pound candles burn for approximately 100 hours.  They are clean, soot-free and made of renewable material. 

Right now we're giving out coupons if you spend $10.00 or more.  The coupon gives you $1.00 off fruits and vegetables on your next visit.

Here's what's at the Fruit Stand now:

• Cherries
• Apricots
• Peaches--May Crest, June Crest, Bonjour
• Plums--Red Beaut
• Loquat (Biwa)
• Citrus Fruit--Grapefruit, Valencia Oranges, Eureka Lemons
• Vegetables--Zucchini (limited supply), Swiss chard
• Herbs--Oregano, Mint
• Honey--from bees at our orchard
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax
• Placer County Real Food Cookbook, by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny
• Applewood for barbeque

Local Meat & Fruit Stand

Pomegranate blossoms, fruits should be ripe by October

Through the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyer's Club you can order locally and naturally produced  beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, honey and other items like olive oil, jam and marinades.  You make an order online and pick it up the either at our orchard in Granite Bay, or in one of the other locations in Penryn, Truckee, Kings Beach or Auburn.  June orders need to be placed by 5:00 this coming Friday, June 8th.  Delivery at our orchard is the next Friday afternoon, June 15th.

We've been busy at the orchard lately mowing, thinning persimmons, picking cherries, fixing irrigation, planting winter squash and tending the vegetable gardens.  

At the fruit stand we now have:

• Loquats
• Red Beaut Plums
• Cherries
• Valencia Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Eureka Lemons
• Herbs from the garden--oregano, mint
• Swiss Chard
• Applewood for Barbeque
• Honey from bees at our orchard
• Placer County Real Food Cookbook, by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny

First Plums

Bee hives at the orchard.

Red Beaut plums are now at the farm stand.  These are the earliest plums of the year.  Red Beauts have red skin with juicy amber colored flesh. We also have a limited supply of cherries for sale. At the farm stand you'll also find yellow grapefruit, Eureka lemons, Valencia oranges and local honey from bees at our orchard.

Plant Starts for Sale at the Orchard

One of the nice new signs Shoko made for the farm stand.

We have lots of organically grown seedlings from Peas and Harmony for sale now at the orchard.  The plant stand is full of many varieties of big healthy tomato plants, including heirloom, cherry, paste, slicing types. There are also pepper and eggplant seedlings and herbs.

Navel oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and eggs are for sale at the farm stand.  We've been busy in the orchard doing spring tasks such as fixing water boxes, hanging pheromone tags, thinning peaches, mowing grass and making rows in the vegetable gardens.  During the past few weeks we've planted zucchini, beans, and the first of the tomato seedlings.

Hoshigaki & Meat Buyer's Club

Viviano digging at the edge of his great-grandmother's garden with the chickens.

We're no longer sending out hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon) through mail order.  This season's supply is getting low and the weather is  warm enough that the sugar formed on the outside may melt in shipping.  If you can visit the fruit stand, you can still pick some up or you can wait until October 2012 when we begin taking mail orders again.  Our orchard is open through out the year growing other seasonal fruit and vegetables.  Feel free to visit the farm stand or come take a walk in the orchard.  

The Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club will deliver naturally raised local meat, eggs, honey and other local products to our orchard on March 16th. To make an order for the Meat Buyers Club, place your order online by Friday, March 9th at 5:00 PM.

We have a lot of citrus fruit and kiwi for sale at the fruit stand.   

Here's what's at the fruit stand now: 

• Mandarins--owari satsuma 
• Navel Oranges
• Blood Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Lemons--Meyer and Eureka
  
• Kiwi 
• Placer County Real Food Cookbook--by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny
• Eggs