And The Rain Came Down...

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2017 is off to a wonderfully wet start on the farm! We've had 12.07" of rain in the new year, for a total of 34.67" rain year to date, with more falling as I type. The Pineapple Express atmospheric river is flowing, and storms are stacked up all the way to Japan (see last photo above)!

We're also off to a fantastic start on the fruit front, picking up on 2016's strong finish. Our Owari Satsuma Mandarins are available fresh at Scotts Valley Market. More Satsumas and Page Tangelo x Mandarin hybrids are at the CA Fruit Crate in Saratoga. They are showing up in some fantastic salads at Assembly too.

Be sure to look for Mandarin Creamsicle and whole lot of Bergamot at The Penny Ice Creamery for desert. If drink's your pleasure, keep an eye out for Buddha Hand Brew from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. Ristorante Avanti has a citrus-rich cocktail menu as well.

A couple tons of Meyer Lemons, Algerian "Clementine" Tangerines, Washington Navel Oranges and Jincheng Oranges are up next. And, thanks to the rain, bumper crops of Tango Mandarins, Gold Nugget Mandarins, Moro Blood Oranges and Cara Cara Navel Oranges are all on deck!

Rain Update 01.12.17, 0900hrs:
Storm total: 10.75”, January 16.34”, Rain Year to Date: 38.94”

In Gratitude

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Long lapse in posting here... We're still enjoying the summer's Walla Walla Onions and Manzanillo Olives. Seeds are saved. Jars of dried pears and jalepeños are in the cupboard, and 8 cases of canned tomatoes are in storage. Foremost however, we are grateful for the 2.12" of rain that fell from the sky so far today, bringing us to 11.86" ytd! Water is still falling as I type, and more is forecast.

Wonderful wet fall aside, the farm is cranking fruit. The walk-in is full of kiwis, which I pulled down by headlamp last night before today's rain. A beautiful crop of Wonderful Pomegranates went to Frog Hollow's Happy Child CSA a couple of weeks ago, and Persian Banana Pumpkins and Fuyu Persimmons graced the cooler at The Penny Ice Creamery for Halloween. On the other side of the hill, our produce is available at the California Fruit Crate in Saratoga and Bevy Produce in San Jose.

Thanks to the rain, our three garlic varieties are 6" tall already, and the next rounds of Red Russian Kale and Vates Collard Greens are taking off. We are looking forward to a record citrus season. The trees are loaded, and our Owari Satsumas have already started to turn!

For now, we enjoy the petrichor and all the critters who come out to enjoy the moisture (see slideshow above).

Wishing everyone abundance and the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Avo Max!

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We just finished our largest avocado harvest to date. 88 cases of #48 Hass went out the door Monday thanks to Coke Farm. Our #60's went to Scotts Valley Market, the deli at New Leaf Felton and the brand new Bevy Produce in San Jose, who will be stocking our Italian Prune Plums and Genoa Italian Heirloom Lemons as well.

Our #70's went to Viva's Cafe, now open at Merrill College, UCSC, and the good peeps at Steamer Lane Supply. We also donated two huge boxes of #2's, and the #80's to the Grey Bears Brown Bag Program.

All told, we've had a wonderful summer. We're up to our ears in cukes, peppers and tomatoes. Pumpkins, persimmons, and pomegranates next... Abundance abounds!

Sights of Spring...

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The most wonderful thing about needing to do a second Spring post is that, despite a couple of weeks of high pressure, for the most part we've had an actual Spring this year!

Rain continues to fall periodically--we're now up to 40.63" ytd--and temps remain in the low 70's. Our annuals are all planted out and have had plenty of time to get their roots established. None of the trees have been irrigated yet, besides for fertigation purposes.

The last rounds of citrus are still trickling in, and many trees are already laden with a very heavy set of nubbin fruit. Our avocados are sizing up and are likewise copious from last year's dry spring. Mostly, our world is in bloom right now. We sure do enjoy the show!

Sounds of Spring

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Nearly a month of high pressure has brought the tree frogs out of hibernation. Our nights are filled with their joyful chorus. Unfortunately, temps in the mid-seventies don't correlate with very much precipitation. Our rain gauge sits at 23.21" for the year. Hopefully el niño finds some legs come March...

The warm weather has accelerated our citrus season, and our last variety of mandarins, Gold Nugget, went out this week. They were splendiforous this year! Earlier we had a bumper crop of Moro Blood Oranges, which went to The Penny and Manresa Bread. Some absolutely beautiful Cara Cara Navels went to the same locations as well as Ristorante Avanti. Jincheng oranges and Tango tangerines were all spoken for by Frog Hollow's Happy Child CSA.

The folks from FOOD, What?! came up following the harvest, as they have for the past three years, to glean tangerines and mandarins for their recruiting trips South County schools. We wish them and their youth crew continued success. As such, it was a bit of a struggle to pull together enough fruit for the tasting at tomorrow's UCSC Citrus Class. Pucker up, folks! It's lime vs. lime... lemons and mandarins too!

Here's to many mating frogs and a wet spring!