This Week’s Fruit:
Cal Red Peaches 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. August Fire Nectarines The August Fire brings our nectarine season to a close beautifully. The fruit is elegantly shaped and rich in flavor, with deep red skin and warm orange flesh. Emerald Beaut Plums The Emerald Beaut is a delicate green that turns golden with a hint of blush. It has a firmer texture than the Santa Rosa with a crisp almost crunchy mouth- feel. One of our most hardy fruit, the Emerald Beaut just gets sweeter and sweeter without losing texture as it ages. Flame Seedless Grapes Firm, large, and sweet the Flame Seedless are one of the most popular varieties in North America. Enjoy these out of hand or try them in green salads, chicken salads, or fruit salads.A Note From Farmer Al
Dear CSA Members, As the harvest season gradually slows down, we turn our attention to the ever-present challenges of nature and renew our efforts to grow the crops still remaining to be picked and next year’s harvest as well. Today we’ll begin pruning the apricots to get ready for next year’s crop. Most pruning occurs during late fall and the winter months, but apricots require summer pruning because of a serious fungal disease called Eutypa. This fun- gus infects fresh pruning cuts when rainfall occurs within 2 to 6 weeks after pruning. Once infected the disease enters the cambium layer of the infected branch and travels down the branch. It can kill the whole branch and will even kill the tree if it gets into the main trunk. By pruning in August and early September, the pruning cuts (wounds) have time to heal and scab over and thus be protected from fungal infections, well before the first rain which typically doesn’t happen until mid November. The other thing we must consider when pruning fruit trees in August and September is that summer pruning of any fruit tree will have a de-invigorating effect on branch growth for the following year. Since our apricots always have amazing vigor anyway, we actually want to reduce their vigor somewhat, thereby shifting the energy of the tree to produce more fruit buds next year (for the 2015 crop). Pruning now also opens up the tree to allow more sun- light (energy) to every growing point on the tree, and this will also strengthen the fruit buds which are now being formed for next year’s (2014) crop. So, pruning apricots right now, in the late summer, works well from every angle! We’re planning and working two years ahead.