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Watsonville - Salinas:
Watsonville-Salinas weather has been foggy and overcast for much of the mornings and into the afternoon, with temperatures lingering in the 60s-70s. Quality overall is good, but we do have a few growers dealing with some 5-day fruit due to rotation and labor issues. As labor continues to be difficult with some farmers faced with leaving blocks behind, it is a reminder that labor is an ongoing issue we need to address at some point as an industry far beyond our fields.Strawberry volume will continue to drop slowly but surely, with raspberry and blackberry numbers continually increasing.
Santa Maria:
This week, temperatures in Santa Maria will stay in the low-high 70s, with mostly sunny days ahead. Blackberries are showing some increased red-cell, with afternoon fruit starting to decline slightly. Our strawberry fall crop is coming along nicely with the Portola crop to peak the last week of September -potentially the first week of October. These numbers will continue to increase substantially in the weeks ahead.
Mexico: Our strawberry crop in Maravatio is in the process of being prepared for October harvest - plants look strong and healty. Zamora strawberry planting is almost over, there is still some Sayulita (variety from Planasa) and plug plants left to plant by the end of the month and early September. Volume should start to pick up by October as well. Raspberries are seeing a lot of green fruit in the early plants. You can hear the bees buzzing looking for nectar and pollinating the flowers to ensure well-shaped and strong raspberry crops. Blueberries look excellent in quality with fresh, beautiful color and full blossom. Shape, size and firmness look great, with volume to pick up in October. Blackberry fields have nice green fruit and a lot of blossom.
Blueberries:
Oregon quality is good-fair right now, superior to that in B.C. We are finishing our last picks of Elliot's this week-early next week with minimal quantities of California fruit. B.C. quality is fair and QC is keeping a close eye on quality, but volume is declining as adverse weather conditions could have the potential to affect volume ahead.
For up-to-date weather conditions in all of our growing regions, click on the region below. Wunderground.com is our go-to weather resource for fast and reliable weather updates.
California Giant Berry Farms is a proud sponsor of this week's Blogger Tour presented by Markon and the Alliance for Food and Farming. With a variety of meal events, field and facility tours, roundtable discussions with some of the industries most notable participants - we had quite the fun and educational week! We kicked off the week by meeting a few of the industries most knowledgeable bloggers and registered dietitians, Markon and the Alliance for Food and Farming staff, and most importantly, continued to spread the word about the importance of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables - both organic and conventional. Focused primarily on food safety, building a network of influencers that can speak on behalf of this mission and combat false assumptions and misconceptions made by the Dirty Dozen - we are always proud to be participants and advocates of supporting shopper's choices, informing consumers on what they put on their plates, and most importantly, to increase consumption of ALL fruits and veggies while eliminating the fear-factors associated with purchasing conventional produce. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes photos next week!
This Morgan Hill Trader Joe's is doing it right! A complete California Giant blueberry display paired with whey protein powder - because who doesn't like a refreshing, post-workout blueberry smoothie?
Send us your own "pick of the week" and we will feature it here!
