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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Warren Pears
This pear has a classic European texture. It’s soft and juicy with a silky sweetness that avoids the typical grittiness found in most pears. Pears are ripe when wrinkled and yielding slightly near the stem. Pears will store well in the fridge once they have reached your optimal ripeness.
Golden Russet Bosc Pears
The Golden Russet is true to its name with a yellowish-white flesh and a uniformly russet skin. It has the classic Bosc shape of a long elegant neck. Excellent for cooking with, the Bosc’s texture holds up very well in pies, tarts and for poaching.
Hayward Kiwi
Chieci Farm, Live Oak, CA
Originally known as the Chinese gooseberry due to its Chinese orgins. Hawyward Wright, a New Zealand nurseryman propagated his plants by grafting and they eventually became the preferred cultivar of growers due to their sweet flavor and thin skin. Ready to eat when they yield to gentle pressure. Store these on the counter for 4-5 days. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Fuji Apples
Cayuma Orchards, New Cayuma, CA
Fujis are a cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, an heirloom apple dating back to Thomas Jefferson. Fujis are loved by many for their crisp, sweet, and juicy character. Store on your counter out of direct light for 4-5 days. Refrigerate after to maintain crispness.
Clementine Mandarins
Olsen Organic Farm, Lindsay, CA
Clementines are very sweet, juicy, easy to peel, and usually seedless, making them very popular with children and adults alike. Store out of sunlight for 2-4 days on the counter or up to two weeks in the fridge.
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Dear CSA members,
Weather is a critical factor for all farms. It controls production in terms of quan- tity and quality, and the normal weather patterns of a farm’s region are what de- termine the crops that will do best there, given the soil type. Weather, of course, is a 365 day per year thing. But for us, here at Frog Hollow, it’s the winter weather and the spring weather that really make us or break us! Winter is when we get the “chill hours” our trees need and it’s during the winter and early spring months that we get the rain we need.
So NOW is when we really worry about the weather! Well, actually now and all the way through the bloom period. The rest of the year is usually more predictable and less worrisome. So bear with me if I keep talking about the weather in my notes but it really is the most important thing right now.
Winter Chill Hours are very good this year and the ten day weather report predicts more of the same for the next ten days. Rain is what we need now. And Snow!
The entire state of California is experiencing a drought and 2013 is on track to be the driest year in history. The “water wars” will intensify and farms all up and down the state will face rationing. Experts are predicting drier years ahead due to global warming.
So here at Frog Hollow we must continue to increase the water holding capacity of our soil by applying compost. Compost improves the tilth of soil, increasing its porosity. This also has the effect of aerating the soil, all of which enhances the ability of roots to absorb nutrients from the soil.
We’re currently producing enough compost to apply 24 tons per acre to our or- chards. This sounds like a lot, and by most standards it exceeds the usual recom- mendations. But walking through an orchard where that much compost has been applied, one has a hard time even discerning the thin layer of compost on the orchard floor. It will take many years of doing this to get the structure and tilth of the soil where it needs to be.
So meanwhile, pray for rain and especially snow to give us that snowpack in the Sierras that will fill up our reservoirs once again.
