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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Hayward Kiwis
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.
Murcott Tangerine
Twin Girl, Yettem, CA
Murcott Tangerines are known for their rich flavor and deeply hued flesh and juice. Their small size and sweet juice makes them a favorite with little ones.
Hass Avocados
Calavo Growers, Santa Paula, CA
Creamy in texture, nutty in flavor, with a small to medium seed. The Hass skin is easy to peel and darkens from green to purplish-black as it ripens
Navel Oranges
Twin Girl, Yettem, CA
California Navel Oranges are considered to be the best Navels for eating out of hand. They have a thick skin that is easy to peel, are seedless and have a meaty and sweet flesh that makes them a perfect snack.
Ruby Grapefruit
Sundance Organic, Oceanside, CA
The Grapefruit is said to cross between the Jamaican sweet orange and the Indonesian pomelo, first documented in 1750. Ruby grapefruit was an accidental discovery of a red fruit growing on a pink grapefruit tree.
Albion Strawberries
JW Farms, Watsonville, CA
The Albion is a newer variety strawberry developed at UC Davis. It is ever bearing and usually produces fruit June – October in the Bay Area. Strawber- ries are early this year! The sweet flavor and firm flesh makes the Albion an excellent dessert or preserving berry.
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Cherries?
Lately, regulars at the farmers’ market all have one question on their minds, “When will fresh fruit start?” The next thing they ask is “Will there be cherries?”
Yesterday my daughter Maddie and I drove (in my golf cart) out to survey the cherries. Most trees are still in full bloom, but the Brooks cherries are past that, and now the snowy white blossoms are drying up, and fruit is forming.
We call this the “Fruit Set” stage of growth. We did find some fruit! It’s still a bit too early to tell how much, but it definitely looks like a lot more than last year’s meager crop! We’re all longing for a great crop of cherries, and the Brooks, our earliest variety, are my favorite. Not only are they great to eat fresh, they also dry well and freeze well, so they can be enjoyed all year long!
Bings and Rainers are both still in full bloom, so fruit set is not happening just yet. Next, we looked at the Warren pears. The trees look healthy and had tons of bloom in them this year, but it is still too soon to tell what the fruit set looks like.
The really good news is the apricots. Looks like a good crop in every variety. Also, no brown rot! This makes the fourth consecutive year that we’ve dodged that bullet….and they are looking to be ahead of schedule. I’ll even make a brash prediction….we’ll have Apache apricots in your boxes the last week in April! This would make this year the all-time record earliest harvest!
Today is also the first day of irrigation for us… not a record, thankfully. Last year the 2014 winter was so dry we had to irrigate in January. Since we have so many re-plants this year, that are actually scattered throughout every block of trees, we’ve decided to get started irrigating early to make sure their shallow root systems are well-watered. Not to mention the weather report, which is predicting 88 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures for later this week.
Bring on summer! We are ready!
