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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT:
Rainier Cherries
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Created in 1952 at Washington State University, Rainiers are a cross between the Bing and Van. Plump, delicious, and with ex- tremely sweet creamy flesh, they can be more fragile than the dark cherries.
Cot -n- Candy Apriums
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A white fleshed aprium developed by renownded plant breeder Floyd Zaiger. Characteristic of white fleshed stone fruit, these apriums have a more subtle sweetness than orange varieties, but with notes of honeydew, they are sure to please. These delicate fruits bruise easily, so handle with care.
Gold Dust Peaches
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The Gold Dust is one of our favorites and the first truly outstanding peach of the season for eating out of hand. An heirloom variety, it is low in acid and smaller than most of our peaches. Its juicy, melting texture and sweetness makes it a favorite on the farm.
Earliblue Blueberries
Riverdance Farms, Livingston, CA
A classic northern high bush variety, this is one of the first blueberry varieties to ripen. They are typically large in size and pale in color. Earliblues are mildly flavored and sweet.
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL:
Dear CSA Members,
I’m sitting here on my golf cart watching my ground team spread granular fertilizer on the new 20-acre peach trees. They are a crew of six stalwart sturdy young men who are all built low to the ground, so they are well suited to the ground team tasks. The fertilizers that they’re spreading are from Hendrikus Organics, a company in Washington State. They consist of three types “Soil Enhance”, “Soil Complete”, and “Humagic”, which is a powder form of humus.
I first met Hendrikus on a narrow winding hillside street high up in the Berkeley Hills. I was looking for the house of my partner Arjun and his wife Diana, whom I was on my way to visit.But I was a bit lost when I saw two workers on the side of this narrow street, loading tools into the back of a pick-up. I asked them for directions and they knew exactly where to send me because they had been working at Arjun’s house.
So I went around the corner, found the house and went in.
Arjun and Diana are not only great partners (in FHF) but good friends. They were really excited to see me on this day. It was the final day of their new garden construction and they wanted me to meet the “gardener”. We walked out to a terrace over-looking a 1.5 acre ravine which had been transformed into a magical garden, rivaling the beauty of the famous Buchart Gardens of Vancouver BC. A few minutes later in walked the man I had met on the street, the Gardener. His name was Hendrikus. We immediately hit it off, talking about his favorite subject and mine….the soil.
To make a long story short, he came out to my farm to visit that very same afternoon. I’ve been buying organic fertilizers from him ever since. Literally spending 10’s of thousands of dollars Literally spending 10’s of thousands of dollars on his fertilizers, because they are just so good.
More next week….dinner with Hendrikus in Hanalei, Hawaii.
Warm Regards,
Farmer Al
