Large Size of Pineapple Pear (my hand is not small) Doesn't that look yummy? Took the photo this morning. Give it a couple of days to finish ripening off the tree and I will be delightfully devouring it. It has a hint of pineapple flavor to its flesh, hence its name. What is exciting, this pear can be grown in the yards of the majority of homes in the U.S. Pineapple Pear only requires about…

We are pleased to see the US Postal Service give some recognition to four outstanding old-time favorite apples. We still grow the Northern Spy, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious because they are still winners in our book. Here is the introduction text from the USPS website (www.USPS.com/stamps): With these Apples stamps, the U.S. Postal Service proves that apples are not only good—and good for you—but they're also delightful, cheery stamp subjects, just right for postcards!Some…

What is the right rootstock for Fuyu Persimmon? If you do an internet search, often the #1 report found is one from a research project done in the 1930's and found in the California Avocado association 1940 Yearbook 25: 43-44. You can read it yourself or let me summarize it: According to the report, Fuyu should not be grown on Diospyros lotus and should be grown on Diospyros kaki. This summary is repeated all across…

(Drying Hachiya Persimmons) Hanging Around By The Water Cooler We had read about dried persimmons (Ancient Art of Hoshigaki) in various articles (example here and here) but most of the office and sales staff had never tried them. This week, James brought in some dried Hachiya Persimmons and we were pleasantly surprised at the flavor and sweetness. Now James is showing us all how to dry the Hachiya Persimmons. With the help of Lloyd, the…

Kelsey Plum - attractive with bloom rubbed off (photo 8-8-2012) Took a stroll through the orchard this morning before the blazing heat made it intolerable. Came across the Kelsey Plum with some ready to pick. Kelsey Plum Tree - Loaded with fruit This is no ordinary Japanese Plum. Color, shape and most importantly taste make it stand out. The unique bright green heart shape is what everyone first remembers about this variety - at least…

I took a quick walk today to the orchard to document some ripening times of the apricots (camera in hand of course) and ran across one of my favorite plums already ready to pick. Please note that it is July 3rd and summer has been kind to us so most orchard fruit crops are a little behind normal. What is amazing to me is that we will be still eating quailty fruit off this tree…

The L.A. Times had a nice article: The Future of Gravenstein Hangs on a Thin Stem Please take a minute to read it. We have been selling Gravenstein Apples for years (and more recently the newer Red Gravenstein Apples as well). They are not big sellers and that is a shame. As the article mentions, there is a small resurgence of the Gravenstein by fans of this apple. They want to save this wonderful apple…

Italian Everbearing Fig A beautiful day outside. Two storms coming in - smaller one blew through with a few sprinkles overnight. Major rain maker scheduled for tomorrow. Makes the photographer side of me smile - I love clouds and clean air. The agriculture side of me weeps along with the rest of the farmers - Raisins still drying in the fields on paper trays, walnuts and almonds frantically being shaken and swept up, Cotton balls…

Persian Fruiting Mulberries in various stages of ripening Persian Mulberries fruit on second year wood. How do I know that? In our budwood orchards we prune almost all of it off each winter to force new growth for budding and grafting. Even with all the new growth by summer, there is not enough fruit to take a decent photo. This year I asked that one tree of each variety of fruiting mulberries be spared from…