as summer winds down and fall ramps up
The Sivan Charentais melons from Sun Tracker Farm are really popping off this week! They are grown organically in Guinda. It's been perfect melon-weather in the Capay Valley so the Charentais are looking real good this week! They are so sweet, aromatic, floral, and tropical tasting (all at the same time). As the seasons change and the weather cools down, we’re reminded that melons won’t be around for too much longer and to savor the moment. Enjoy these delicious melons grown with love by Robert and Carine Hines. Store them in the fridge and enjoy chilled.
These beautiful Bronx table grapes are grown organically by John Lagier in Escalon. The Bronx is a cross between a Thompson and Concord grape and it carries the best traits of both. Bronx grapes are incredibly delicate, honey-sweet, and super perfumey with the perfect muskiness – pleasing grape-lovers and non-grape-lovers alike! John is one of the few growers left who still grows them so we feel lucky to get our hands on these. Enjoy these beautiful little rosy-colored, nearly translucent gems and store them in the fridge.
Toby of Free Spirit Farm grows our favorite Emerald Beaut plums organically in Winters. These beautiful green-yellow plums can hang on the tree for much longer than other stone fruit so getting a September harvest means sweeter and more flavorful fruit! Luckily, the texture remains firmer with a nice crunch, reminiscent of a pluot. But these are just plums and they are just spectacular at that. Store them on the counter.
Blackberry season is nearing the end but we wanted to share some of McGinnis Ranch’s Prime Ark blackberries while they’re around! Based in Watsonville, Sandi and Sara grow diversified fruits, vegetables and flowers organically on 14ish acres. They put so much care into growing and harvesting beautiful produce. We just love supporting this sweet women-owned farm! These blackberries are gigantic, plump, juicy, and sweet-tart. Store these in the fridge and savor the near-end of blackberry season.
It’s been an amazing fig season for Thea and Andres of Gauchito Hill Farm. We’ve been loving all the varieties coming out of their lil' organic farm in the Capay Valley. We wanted to revisit a classic: Black Mission figs. So jammy and perfect! We love the crackly and ugly figs the best. Store these in the fridge.
EARTHseed is a 14 acre farm in Sebastopol. Solar-powered and rooted in Afro-Indigenous permaculture principles, EARTHseed was founded by Pandora Thomas and her team to build a legacy of earth wisdom traditions of people of African descent. In 2021, Pandora took over an existing organic orchard known for delicious Asian pears and many other fruits. It’s now known as EARTHseed Farm. They grew the delicious Shinseiki pears (yellow) and Hosui pears (golden brown) we have this week. We love both for their rich, juicy, complex, and crisp flavors. Store them in the fridge to maintain crunch.
When we think of California mango season, we think of Keitt mangoes – bountiful in September with a season running just a few weeks long. They stay green even when they’re ripe, there are few stringy fibers which means smoother flesh, and the pit is generally small for its size. Keitts are the only variety of mango that’s grown commercially at significant scale in California. They were first planted in 1984 and now span over 250 acres down near the Salton Sea. (Keitts, like Wong Farm’s Valencia Prides, are California desert-grown!) California Keitts are loved for their texture and the sweet tropical flavor that has a resinous pine-y background note. Just like an avocado, once the mango yields to gentle pressure from the flat part of your thumb, it’s ready to enjoy! Just leave it hanging on the counter to ripen.
