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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT: 

Hass Avocado
Churchill, Ojai, 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.

Pink Lady Apple
Cuyama, New Cuyama,CA
Pink Lady’s are a cross between the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams. They are a crisp and juicy apple with a tart finish. Pink skins and a creamy white colored flesh that resists browning make this an excellent apple for salads and slicing.

Pixie Tangerines
Churchill, Ojai, CA
Pixie tangerines are a late season variety that begin ripening in March and April. Their tough skin gives way to fruit with a very robust flavor.

Ruby Grapefruit
Sundance, Oceanside, CA
The Grapefruit is said to be a cross between the Jamaican sweet orange and the Indonesian pomelo, first documented in 1750. Under its thick, red-blushed skin you’ll find an aromatic, ruby red, juicy flesh with a perfect sweet tart flavor.

Strawberries
JW Farm, Watsonville, CA
Strawberries are early this year! The sweet flavor and firm flesh makes them an excellent dessert or preserving berry.

A NOTE FROM FARMER WILL

Hello CSA Members!

There are strawberries in your box this week! In Brentwood, strawberries are usually available starting in May and the growing season typically lasts until late June for some varieties. Strawberries are interesting because while most are like our fruit trees, only producing fruit at a certain time of the year, some varieties are ever bearing. Ever bearing means that from Spring through early Fall, the plant will produce fruit consistently. While this is great, the production is always lower than a normal Summer-bearing variety. But this is good for a home-gardener who doesn’t want a ton of strawberries all at one time!

Just last Wednesday we planted 100 strawberry plants in our garden here at Frog Hollow! We are going to test out 4 varieties for flavor and growing capability. The climate in Brentwood typically produces amazing berries, but as an organic farm we can’t just plant what everyone else does. Our plants are varieties that are well suited for organic production as they are naturally disease resistant while still producing great flavored berries. Disease resistance is important because we don’t fumigate the ground or spray harsh chemicals to combat diseases and strawberries are susceptible to many of the same diseases as tomatoes (which we grow a lot of).

We are testing out the varieties: Monterey, San Andreas, Albion and Chandler. Monterey, San Andreas and Albion are all ever-bearing varieties, which are perfect for the permanent beds in our culinary garden. And when we do farm tours kids will love them! Chandler has the potential to become a bigger player in our overall vegetable operation, but we’re going to see how it does!

It will take a year for us to start to see any real production. Strawberries are perennial, meaning they last through the winter, and produce fruit year after year. The first year the plants need to direct all of their energy into forming healthy and strong roots, which means they should not spend time producing fruit. We will have to pick off any flowers we see so that we can ensure strong and consistent harvests for years to come.

Since Wednesday all of the plants have already started to leaf out! Wish them luck!

All the best to you,
Will