In Conversation with Chris Otow Kuratomi and Tosh Kuratomi, owner-operators of Otow Orchard

Topher in conversation with Anne Hilton of California Peony Company. https://www.californiapeonycompany.com/

Topher Delaney in conversation with Alexis Koefoed, Farmer, activist, and owner of Soul Food Farm. https://www.soulfoodfarm.com/

Topher Delaney in conversation with Robin Parer, owner of Geraniaceae and grower of Erodiums, Geraniums, and Pelargoniums. Ways to get in contact with Robin Parer: [email protected] https://www.geraniaceae.com/ Photo by Saxon Holt.

Topher Delaney in conversation with Matt Kondolf, Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning at the University of California Berkeley.

Garden The Knowledge. Topher Delaney in conversation with Martin Bournhonesque.

Topher Delaney in conversation with David Duskin, Public Artists, and co-founder of Petaluma River Park http://www.davidduskin.com/ https://www.petalumariverpark.org/ Publicly accessible collaborative works: Teaching Stones, Almaden Library and Community Center, San Jose, CA Norman Lear Monument, Emerson College, Boston, MA Castro Valley Creek Daylighting Project, Castro Valley Library, Castro Valley, CA Thousand Ways, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA Books that have inspired David: The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu, translation by Stephen Mitchell  Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes Finnegans Wake, James Joyce Body Watching, Desmond Morris Moby Dick, Herman Melville Paintings that have inspired David: Annunciation, Cortona, Fra Angelico  Annunciation, San Marco, Fra Angelico 

Otow Orchard 6232 Eureka Rd Granite Bay, CA 95746 916-791-1656 www.otoworchard.com In 1911,  Kitchitaro Kawanoand his wife, Momi, purchased 20 acres of land in the Rosedale Colony Tract of Loomis and named it Rosedale Farm.  After Kitchitaro's death in 1939, his widow and youngest daughter, Helen, ran the farm. During World War II, Helen and her husband, Seiichi Otow, were interned at Tule Lake Relocation Center. After the war, they returned to the farm to find that it was not in a condition to provide them an income. Seiichi opened a radio repair shop in Sacramento while reviving the orchard. The Otow family, including Seiichi, Helen, June, Christine and Wesley cared for and harvested the orchard and packed all the fruit on the farm until the 1970s. Today, Chris Otow Kuratomi and her husband, Tosh Kuratomi, respond to their customers' preferences with a much more diverse variety of fruits and vegetables. They continue to specialize in the ancient art of dried persimmons known as hoshigaki. Surrounded by development, they strive to honor their family's commitment to the farm. The orchard takes on different personalities through the seasons and continues to provide local residents with high-quality fresh food. They grow the following fruits + Vegetables: Apples: Gala Gravenstein Fuji Honeycrisp Pink Lady Reinette Simirenko Red Delicious Yellow Delicious Gala Apricots Blenheim         Fantasme Orange Red Patterson Robada Royal Royal Rosa Asian Pears Hosui Kosui Nijisseiki Okusankichi Olympic Shinko Shinseiki Ya Li Yoi Blackberries Cherries Bing Rainier Royal Lee Royal Lynn Citrus Blood Orange Clementine Mandarin Eureka Lemon Satsuma Mandarin Naval Orange Satsuma Mandarin Valencia Orange Yellow Grapefruit Figs           Black Mission Brown Turkey         Panache Garden Vegetables Basil Bitter Mellon Chard Chile Cilantro Japanese Cucumbers Japanese Eggplants Kale Lavender Mint Okra Peppers Rosemary Tomatillo Tomatoes Grapes Kyoho Red Perlette Thompson Seedless Jujube GA866 Li Sugar Cane Kiwi Mulberries Nectarines Ambre Fantasia  Flavortop Heavenly White Jade Nuts Almonds Chestnuts Pecan Walnut Olives Manzanilla Mission Sevillano Clingstone Peaches Bowen Phelps White Peaches Babcock Indian Free Nectar Saturn (donut) Silver Logan Spring Rose Sugar Lady Yellow Freestone Peaches 49er Delight Fairtime Fay Elberta Flavorcrest Frost Gene Elberta June pride Junecrest Late Alamar Loring Maycrest Muir O'henry PF 11 PF lucky 13 Q-1-8 Red haven Regina Springcrest Summerset Suncrest Pears   Bartlett Comice D'anjou Persimmon Chocolate Hachiya Fuyu Giombo Giro Hachiya Hyakume Imoto Izu Maru Nagamaru Niishimura Wase Vodka Plum Black Amber Casselman El Dorado Empress Frontier Kelsey La Roda Mariposa Red Beaut Red Roy Santa Rosa Satsuma Ume Plum Black Amber Casselman El Dorado Empress Frontier Kelsey La Roda Mariposa Red Beaut Red Roy Santa Rosa Satsuma Ume Pomegranates Ambrosia Eversweet Wonderful Quince Squash Black Futsu Butternut Squash Delicata Kabocha Red Kuri Yellow Zucchini

Topher Delaney and Park Ranger Yenyen Chan discuss the significance of the Chinese in the early history of Yosemite and our National Park Service. Resources discussed in the podcast: George Wright Forum Article: Interpreting the Contributions of Chinese Immigrants in Yosemite National Park’s History by Yenyen F. Chan - http://www.georgewright.org/343chan.pdf 2011 Yosemite Video: A Glimpse Into Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kdyrfXGz90 2022 Yosemite Video: Uncovering Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3DAF63C5CB-AB05-426C-9250-21B726BA4272 Exhibit @ Chinese Laundry next to Wawona hotel -  https://yosemite.org/yosemites-chinese-history/ The Today Show interview with Yenyen Chan about Yosemite's Chinese History - https://www.today.com/video/the-pivotal-role-chinese-immigrants-played-in-creating-yosemite-139607109518 Yosemite's Chinese history exhibit - https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/chinesehistory.htm Chinese Built Roads @ Yosemite: Wawona Road - 23 miles long - Built in 4 months (December 1874- April 1875) Tioga Road (Formerly Great Sierra Wagon Road) - 56 miles long - Built in 4 months (1882 - 1883) Big Oak Flat Road Coulterville Road The original Washburn trail to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite Pilgrimage to Sing Mountain: For more information on the Yosemite Sing Peak Pilgrimage, visit the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California website: www.chssc.org The CHSSC website has a specific bookmark for this Yosemite Pilgrimage that is also available directly at this link: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9b463916aa294dcda3cea9d3b4e12926 To request a Ranger Program with Yenyen Chan, contact Public Information Officer - https://www.nps.gov/yose/contacts.htm If you have any stories, letters, or other artifacts from family members who may have worked in Yosemite or the surrounding areas during the 1840's onwards, please email: [email protected] Photo Credit: Christine White Loberg

Topher Delaney in conversation with Joanna Letz, founder and owner-of Bluma Flower Farm, a rooftop farm in Berkeley, CA.    Resources discussed in the podcast: Santa Cruz Farm Program -  https://agroecology.ucsc.edu/ Resource for landscape fabric.  Nolt's Produce Supplies - https://noltsproducesupplies.net/ Resource for Collinear Hoes - https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/weed-control/hoes-cultivators/collinear/ Resource for Cold Storage Systems: Cool Bot - https://www.storeitcold.com Organic Certification: CCOF - https://www.ccof.org/ Ecological Farming Conference: EcoFarm Ecological Farming Association - https://eco-farm.org/conference Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers - https://www.ascfg.org/

Topher Delaney in conversation with Jean Wheeler, owner of Main Street Trees in Napa, CA.  Main Street Trees: www.mainstreettrees.com Jean Wheeler's Favorite Trees: Figs Col de Dame noir Grosse Monstreuse Eve's Black Cherry Excel White Genoa Kadota Pomegranates Wonderful Ariana Desertnyi Early Wonderful Vkusnyi Apples Ashmead's Kernel Golden Delicious Goldrush Citrus Bearss Lime Meyer Lemon Owari Satsuma Mandarin "Be fruitful and mulch apply" ~Jean Wheeler