Drying on the Vine : The Peacock family’s home-grown raisins are known by local farmer’s market patrons to be especially plump and sweet.

One dusty day last year, under a broiling September sun, Scott Peacock scattered freshly harvested grapes atop paper trays. He spent the next three weeks--fingers mentally crossed--hoping for clear skies; a drenching during this critical stage could mean big trouble for the bunches of juicy gems.

Fortunately for Peacock, blue skies prevailed and those sufficiently shriveled grapes--now in raisin form--are making for brisk business at area farmers’ markets.

The Peacock Farm stall has been a common sight for years at local produce bazaars. The family business offers a variety of fresh grapes and other fruits and has attracted a loyal customer base, which looks for the Peacocks three times a week at the two Ventura outlets--Wednesdays and Saturdays--and Thursdays in Thousand Oaks.

“Raisins are our staple,” Scott Peacock said recently, speaking over the phone from his ranch in Dinuba. “It’s something we try to offer year-round. We’ve developed a customer base and they expect to see them when they go to the farmers’ markets.”

What makes Peacock Farm raisins so popular? “We make raisins out of table grapes, which are four of five times the size of most commercial raisin grapes,” Peacock said.

Although sold year-round, the raisins are “seasonal in the sense that they are actually in production--or dried--in September, maybe as late as Oct. 10,” Peacock said. “I keep them in cold storage to ensure freshness and process them as we go along throughout the year.” “Processing,” involves such steps as stemming, washing and bagging, he said.

On 32 acres, Peacock raises Thompson seedless and Red Flame variety grapes. While a fresh offering is available through the summer, all grapes used for raisins are left to dangle on the vines well into the summer, maturing and sweetening. The more time on the vine the better.

“You need to have a certain percentage of sugar to make a decent raisin,” he said. “But if you wait until October for better sugar content you can run into problems.” It’s a crap shoot and Mother Nature is rolling the dice.

“To sun dry--which takes about three weeks--you have to have adequate sunlight. If it rains we can be in big trouble,” said Peacock. Dampness equals mold growth.

Peacock, a third-generation farmer, said he and his wife, Linda, have been in the raisin business since 1975. And during that period he has lost two crops because of rain.

When sun arrives to dry his bounty, the grapes are placed on a succession of sturdy paper trays between the rows of vines. Each tray holds roughly 20 pounds of grapes. “We prepare the terrain so it slopes upward and the trays can face the sun more,” Peacock said.

In about three weeks time, with the moisture evaporated, there are roughly five pounds of raisins per tray. “If we have a good year with more sugar content the raisins are even heavier,” he said.

And just in case the rains do come, Peacock designates some of his harvest to be prepared in dehydrators. “You can have raisins ready in about 24 hours, but it’s a more costly process,” he said. “The good part is you can leave the grapes on the vine longer and you don’t have to worry about the rains ruining the crop. We lessen our risk by using the dehydrators, although sun drying is much more predominant.”

During a recent visit to the Wednesday Ventura market, customers were bustling around the Peacock Farm stall, lauding the abundant offering of fresh grapes and plump raisins.

“You can’t get raisins this fat anywhere else,” said customer Craig Kirkland, a Ventura resident. “My wife uses these in cookies instead of chocolate chips. They’re real sweet.”

Inexpensive too. A 1-pound bag is only $3. And fresh grapes are going for $1 a pound.