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Fruit of the Week:
Cal Red Peaches
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The beloved Cal Red is in a class by itself and is the “Oh
my God” peach! A relatively new variety and a California
native, the Cal Red was bred by University of California
botanist Claron O. Hesse in the mid 1960s. Aptly named
for the Golden State, the Cal Red is a beautiful golden
peach marked with a gentle, sun-kissed blush. Our best-
selling variety, Cal Red fans mark their calendars to
eagerly await harvest each year.
Opal Peaches
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Yellow-fleshed peaches are more popular in the United
States, but the allure of an excellent white-fleshed variety
like the Opal can’t be denied. Very low in acid, the Opal’s
sweetness comes across two-fold. A beautiful dessert
peach, the Opal has a delicate pink blush to its skin and
mild flesh with a hint of vanilla.
August Fire Nectarines
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
An elegantly shaped and rich in flavor nectarine, with
deep red skin and warm orange flesh.
Flavor King Pluots
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A dark-skinned pluot with red flesh, it has an intense rich
flavor combined with sweet, spicy tones that are reminis-
cent of the Santa Rosa. A nice acid bite and firm texture
that softens beautifully as the fruit continues to ripen, the
Flavor King is amazing out of hand and equally good for
baking.
…all varieties are subject to change…
News of the Week:
A Note from Farmer Al
Dear CSA Members,
We are crazy busy this week. We are picking and packing
4 kinds of pluots, 3 kinds of nectarines 3 kinds of peaches,
Warren pears, Shinseki Asian pears, and Hosui Asian pears…all
within the last 7-10 days.
Often we’re picking to fulfill orders, which means bouncing
from one field-picking only what’s needed, the moving on to
another field. Or, a worst case scenario is when we realize that
a certain block off fruit is getting too ripe, and we’d lose it if we
didn’t pick it quickly.
The Warren pears have always been a management challenge
for me because they ripen now, right during peak harvest of
everything else, especially the Cal Red peaches. Most pluots will
“hang” (farmer lingo) on the tree to be picked at a later date.
They won’t drop. They won’t ripen too fast (which is exactly
what we want them to do), they will just get better.
Not so the Cal Reds…”here today, gone tomorrow…” is the way
they behave. If you don’t pick them on that one certain day
when they are beckoning, the romance is over!
And the Warren Pears are even worse! (What is it with this
August fruit?!) My worst nightmare, which has been a terrible
reality more times than I care to admit is going out to the main
pear block and seeing thousands of fallen fruit littering the
grassy orchard floor!
This year I’m amazed at what’s happening…First, this pear crop
is the biggest I’ve ever seen by far! And ironically it’s exactly
because of that huge crop that the pear ripening is delayed
(allowing us to focus on the Cal Reds!) Why? Because there’s
just too much fruit for the trees to ripen normally. I’m breathing
a huge sigh of relief!
Gotta go right now and double check!
Regards,
Farmer Al
