Brian Ranch U*Pick Orchard

Fall Colors

2011-11-11T10:21:00.001-08:00

Yes, you can get fall colors in Southern California! This is a Santa Rosa plum. In the background, you can see clouds over the San Gabriel mountains. We had our first winter storm last Friday. We were well below the snow line, but the ski slopes are open in Wrightwood. The orchard is long picked out & we are selling our stores from the cold room. Leaf drop is not far off, then we will start all the winter tasks for the orchard: pruning, dormant spraying, & planting the 20 plum trees that will arrive in February. We need to expand the irrigation system & dig the holes for them. It seems like a long time away, but it will be here before we know it. Jack made me mark the locations of the trees with plastic chairs. I'm sure he'll change everything before he trenches for irrigation pipes.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-09-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to plant a pumpkin patch in response to many requests.
I planted several varieties & they open-pollinated, making for several types all on one vine. We have tiny green & yellow striped ones, lots of small round orange ones, & two oblong ones that look like orange watermelons
The pumpkins are now all ripe & ready to pick. This has been a grand success! The only problem is that I didn't plant enough. Next year the patch will be twice as big.

"Look at all those firsts!"

2011-08-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

That's what the volunteer said to me when she handed me the blue ribbons at the Antelope Valley Fair. We won firsts for our Golden Supreme & Royal Gala apples & Shinko Asian pears. We also won second prize for Rosi Red Bartlett pears & 20th Century Asian pears. Yes, that's right, we won both first & second place in the Asian pear category. Yeah for us. It's a great boost in an otherwise disappointing fruit year.

We're Open for Business!

2011-08-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

We finally opened for u-pick business this weekend. It was a long wait since we lost all the crops for the first half of the season. I really missed having people drive in, all excited to pick fruit straight from the trees. The little kids are the best - they think it's so interesting. Most people buy much more than they anticipated. We even had our first picnickers this weekend. So great to get back into the groove.
Sky King likes it too. He's picking his apple off the tree. And lots of petting for a friendly dog.

Monsoon Rains

2011-07-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Summer rains in the High Desert come up on humid afternoons when the heat is very high. Last week we had three days of it. Mornings are relatively cool, but the clouds becoming towering in the afternoon. Suddenly, they drop rain in very precise locations. Last year, when I was driving back from Phelan, I saw torrential rain on one side of the intersection of Pearblossom Highway & Largo Vista Road. The other side of the intersection was totally dry! Tuesday the rain came down pretty hard...but only for about 5 minutes, so we got only .02 of an inch.

Stone Fruit Crop Lost!

2011-06-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is the way the cherry trees should look now. They should be covered with bunches of luscious cherries. Instead, the trees are healthy & covered with leaves, but no fruit. The story is the same for apricots, peaches, nectarines, & plums. We had a frost in March & another in April, followed by a week of cold, dry wind. All the fruit had just set, so it was too tender to survive. Luckily, the apples & pears came through just fine. They set fruit just a few days later.
During u-pick season, I am so busy helping pickers on Saturday & Sunday. We open at 8 AM, but most pickers arrive after 10. This is great because the pilots are putting their planes away when the pickers start coming. But with no fruit, my Saturdays & Sundays are too quiet. I miss all the pickers.

Peaches are starting to grow

2011-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Just one month after the last post, peach flowers are falling away to reveal tiny little peaches. About a quarter inch long & wide as a pencil point, they already have fuzz on their green skins. It's hard to believe that in three months we'll be eating them, standing slightly back to avoid dripping the juice on our clothes.

2011-03-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Spring!!! Spring!!!
Peaches & nectarines are in full bloom. These are always the loveliest trees because of the bright pink color. Each variety is a different shade. The San Gabriel mountains are still covered with snow...in fact they had snowfall last week. Bees appear out of nowhere to pollinate the flowers. We have 2 or 3 other species of bees in addition to the honeybees. Each species looks a bit different & they all seem to get along. It's still cold first thing in the morning, but they get busy around mid-morning & stay at work all day unless the wind kicks up. I can almost taste the peaches now.

2011-01-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last week we had snow...8' of it. A beautiful winter wonderland and so good for the trees. The trees need cold right now. Each variety needs a specified amount of "winter chill hours." The cold really sets the trees up for the next growing season.
So this week, we have very warm temps, like a late spring. Even though the days are beautiful, we're not happy. Too much warm weather may trick the trees into blooming too early. The Farmers Almanac promises more cold temps and more rain in a week or so.
When you're a farmer, you're always worried about the weather. And, Mark Twain, we still haven't been able to do anything about it.

Winter Apples!

2010-12-19T09:55:00.001-08:00

Here's another example of the freaky weather we've had in 2010. There are lots of apples on these trees, but all the leaves have dropped off. And it's mid-December. We'll be picking them off in a few days, but I think I'll leave a few fruits on the trees to see what happens. I think they'll be ok as long as we don't have a hard frost.

Fall Colors

2010-11-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

The trees are starting to turn fall colors. The peaches are particularly pretty, with mahogany colored leaves.
When I lived in the city, seasons were marked by the school year or by the parade of holidays. In the country, the signs are more basic. The sky, the trees, the temperatures at night, all tell me that fall is here. Each season has things to enjoy.
Right now, I think I'll go pick and enjoy a ripe Fuji apple.

2010-09-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Fair
Ribbons
We're always excited this time of year to participate in the Antelope Valley Fair. We're very proud to have won ribbons every year we've participated, since 2003. Our big winners this year: nectarines & Asian pears.

2010-09-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Dogs pick their own fruit!

Our dogs Sky King the golden retriever & Chocolate the labrador retriever go out into the orchard every morning just after breakfast to pick their dessert. They repeat this several times a day. What do they like? Just like people, they want the ripest, tastiest fruit. They will go from tree to tree, sniffing around until they find fruit to their liking. Grab it & pull. My husband Jack saw Sky King bypass the low level fruit & jump at the tree to pick own just a little higher. He got it on first leap too.

2010-06-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Freezing Apricots
Yes, you can freeze apricots! First, pick apricots that are just ripe...if they are too ripe, freezing will ruin their texture. Don't wash them, just pop them into a ziploc & freeze. When you are ready to eat them, take out just as much as you want. Put them into a bowl & microwave on high for one minute. Then pull out the pits & rinse them off. Eat right away because if you let them sit, they will turn brown & mushy. We've kept apricots in the freezer successfully for up to a year. My husband has them for breakfast every morning.

2010-06-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Cherry season comes & goes so quickly. As the cherries first ripen, they are sweet & tangy, but as they stay longer on the trees, they develop deep & winy flavors. This year we managed to eat most of the cherries & keep the birds out. It's been a light year, but the quality is great.

Cherries survived bad weather

2010-04-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

Late last week we had a storm blow in. One day of cold wind was followed by one day of rain. The cherries had just set & were vulnerable. The cold could kill off the fruit & the rain knock them off the trees. On Saturday, we walked through the orchard to find the cherries in great shape. Most are about 1/8 " long & a lovely green color. There's one more storm due this week, but it should be okay by them. Late season storms can do the worst damage. We were lucky this time. It looks like it will be a nice crop.

2010-04-06T10:36:00.001-07:00

Apricots about 2 weeks after fruiting.

2010-04-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Cherry blossoms with snowy San Gabriel mountains in the background

2010-04-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Spring came about two weeks early this year. Peach & nectarine trees are covered with blossoms in various shades of pink. Bees are buzzing around, trying to get to every single flower. Apricots & plums have already fruited and if you look carefully, you can see tiny little fruits. Next up are apples & pears. Cherries are the last to blossom, which seems funny since they are the first to ripen. We're enjoying the beauty of spring & looking forward to the bounty of summer.