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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Warren Pear
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
This is Frog Hollow Farm’s signature pear for good reason. Too difficult to grow for most farmers, it’s never caught on commercially but, Farmer Al has never shied away from putting the time and effort into a fruit that tastes this good. It has a classic European texture – very soft and juicy with a silky sweetness that avoids the typical grittiness found in most pears.
Fuyu Persimmons
Chiechi Farm, Live Oak, CA
The Fuyu has a crisp texture with a rich honey sweet flavor. They have a beautiful orange to red hue when ripe, often with tiny brown speckles on the skin. They can be eaten out of hand with skin on or peeled.
Hayward Kiwi
Chiechi Farm, Live Oak, CA
Originally known as the Chinese gooseberry due to its Chinese origins. 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.
Satsuma Mandarin
Terra Firma, Winters, CA
Satsumas are typically seedless with a thin skin that is loosely attached to the flesh making them very easy to peel. The flesh of the mandarin is very sweet and delicate leaving them susceptible to bruising, so handle with care.
Fuji Apple
Cuyama, New Cuyama,CA
Fujis are a cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, an heirloom apple dating back to Thomas Jefferson.
***all varieties are subject to change***
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Dear CSA Members,
Yesterday’s rain swept over the farm rapidly, sending fieldworkers rushing out of the orchard before the roads got too muddy. We got about” of rain, which isn’t much, but at this time of year the ground dries out very slowly, so we won’t be able to get back to our pruning until Monday. But of course, we really need this rain, so we‘re happy about that.
The really good news for us (and you), is the cold temperatures we’ve been getting. Our chill hour accumulations are now well over 220 hours, which is the best in over six years. If this trend continues, it could mean a good cherry crop, which we have all been missing for the last several years.
The goal is to get over 900 hours of below 45 ̊ by the end of February. So yesterday, by about 3:30pm, the storm had moved eastward to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I got on my golf cart and drove through the grass-covered peach orchard that surrounds my house. The cherry orchard, just east of an open field, was lit up by the setting sun to a burnished bronze, glowing against the gray black storm clouds and framed by a full rainbow. A truly memorable sight, and a beautiful ending to a stormy day!
Cheers,
