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Plentiful sunshine. High 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear skies. Low 44F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Richard Reitz, 74, of Sonora, speaks to guests as he looks over his vineyard at RAJR Estate.
Peter Cover, 52, of Tuolumne, shows visitors to the Cover Fresh Produce greenhouse the process for growing hydroponic tomatoes on the Farm Tour on Saturday.
Eli Sedlmeyer, 10, of Sonora, peers into a bin full of apples in the walk-in cooler at Cover's Apple Ranch in Tuolumne, the last stop on the Farm Tour on Saturday.
Jessica Wilson, 38, of Sonora creates a mouthwatering combination of french bread with homemade ricotta cheese topped with pork sausage, bacon and sweet caramelized onions at her home on the Robin Ridge Ranch.
Master Gardener Marian Chambers of Twain Harte lifts the cover on a tray full of vegan chocolate dipped cookies garnished with edible flowers and delicious fruit cups at The Garden Company on Grace Way.
Richard Reitz, 74, of Sonora, speaks to guests as he looks over his vineyard at RAJR Estate.
Peter Cover, 52, of Tuolumne, shows visitors to the Cover Fresh Produce greenhouse the process for growing hydroponic tomatoes on the Farm Tour on Saturday.
Eli Sedlmeyer, 10, of Sonora, peers into a bin full of apples in the walk-in cooler at Cover's Apple Ranch in Tuolumne, the last stop on the Farm Tour on Saturday.
Jessica Wilson, 38, of Sonora creates a mouthwatering combination of french bread with homemade ricotta cheese topped with pork sausage, bacon and sweet caramelized onions at her home on the Robin Ridge Ranch.
Master Gardener Marian Chambers of Twain Harte lifts the cover on a tray full of vegan chocolate dipped cookies garnished with edible flowers and delicious fruit cups at The Garden Company on Grace Way.
The five stops on the Tuolumne County Farm and Ranch Tour last Saturday were a treat for the five senses.
Cute, cuddly bunnies, baby ducks and pigs, beautiful Bonsai gardens, mouth watering treats, fine wine and arts and crafts were just some of the delights that were offered.
The self-guided tour connects residents and visitors with local farmers and helps fund the Farms of Tuolumne County Agricultural Grant Program, benefitting local youth agricultural projects.
Visitors to the first location, The Garden Co. at 19870 Grace Way in Sonora, were treated to a live demonstration of Bonsai pruning techniques by Anna Judnich, of Jamestown, representing her husband’s company Al’s Bonsai.
Fruit cups and vegan cookies dipped in chocolate and covered with edible flower petals and a lemonade cucumber beverage tickled the palate in a nursery that specializes in vegetables, native plants and other plants that thrive in the local climate.
The second stop on the tour was RAJR Estate at 16111 Lance Court in Sonora, which is owned by Richard Reitz and his wife, Jeanette. The non-commercial estate has just under 540 grape vines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot on half an acre.
The couple returned to the area after a 50-year absence and provided the space for all of their interests, which include winemaking, raising chickens, rabbits and ducks, and five miniature horses that are trained to pull carts. Jeanette Reitz also practices the art of Bonsai, and her 20-plus-year-old collection is displayed around the property.
At the third stop — Robin Ridge Ranch at 17780 Robin Ridge Road, hosted by Jessica and Drew Wilson — participants on the tour were offered a spectacular view as the setting for local crafters, including handmade items by their four children and friends.
Jessica Wilson prepared a charcuterie board containing a combination of French bread with homemade ricotta cheese topped with pork sausage, bacon and sweet caramelized onions.
The busy family finds time to raise chickens for meat and eggs, Dexter cattle, which originated in Ireland, and Idaho pasture pigs, a breed that was developed in 2006 and are smaller than traditional pigs.
Cover Fresh Produce at 18949 Cherokee Road in Tuolumne was the fourth stop. Peter Cover greeted guests, smiling ear to ear, as he led a tour inside of a 7,200-square-foot greenhouse full of tomato plants.
The hydroponic set-up is in its fifth year of production and produces thousands of pounds of one crop: tomatoes. The tomato plants are grown in a coconut fiber growing medium, which does not readily decompose, and the plants are trained using clips every 18 inches.
Cover showed the tour group a tomato vine that had reached a length of 28 feet. Wasps are used to control white flies, while bumble bees are purchased and placed in the closed-in environment to help with pollination.
Inside the greenhouse, the temperature is controlled by fans in the summer and in the winter wood is burned to heat water to 180 degrees flowing through pipes near the vines. The blemish-free tomatoes can be purchased locally at Twain Harte Market, Price Co Foods and are also supplied to local restaurants, including in Groveland and Copperopolis.
Lastly, participants of the tour were given a chance to peek behind the scenes at stop No. 5, Cover’s Apple Ranch at 19211 Cherokee Road in Tuolumne, to see where the fruit is stored, how the apples are sorted by size and weight and processed for cider.
The tour was led by Allan Zimmerly, president of Farms of Tuolumne County, who said the ranch collects 200 bins of apples weighing 1,000 pounds each “in a good year.”
Zimmerly added that the on-site bakery makes around 2,000 pies in November for the holidays using six apples per pie. The rest are stored in a giant walk-in cooler, which he opened to allow the visitors inside.
A 10-gallon Igloo thermos inside the walk-in cooler held cider for guests to sample and was a fitting way to end a farm tour on a hot day in Tuolumne County.
Contact Shelly Thorene at sthorene@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4527.