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Strawberry volume will be tight up until Valentine’s Day due to all of the extreme weather patterns we have been experiencing. However, we will have stems available in all areas for your Valentine’s Day orders, but make sure to get your prebooks in now.
Our blueberry supply will remain steady over the next few months, with availability on the east and west coasts.
For more information on our growing regions, to download our newest eBook Black Is the New Black, and to see pictures of the impact of El Nino in our Southern California fields, scroll below.
Pictured above: blueberry bushes in Chile
Mexico - Both growing areas received rain last Wednesday. Throughout the rest of the week daytime temps will be in the high 60’s/low 70’s and nighttime lows in the high 30’s/low 40’s. Some reports say temps could reach the 80’s.
There wasn’t a lot of damage from last week’s rain. However, the upcoming heat is a concern due to the moisture in the fields. Currently, quality is good with only occasional green tips and shoulders. Our quality control team is inspecting fruit in the field, in addition to our cooler, so this process is helping to keep marginal fruit from entering the marketplace. Although this is dropping our volume (down about 25%), it’s enabling us to only ship the best quality fruit. Blackberries are suffering from the same issues as strawberries; as a result, our blackberry volume is also down.
Florida - We received a ½” of rain last Friday. Although this isn’t much rain, it was enough to halt harvesting for the day. A cold front is predicted to come in today, with daytime highs in the low 60’s and nighttime lows in the high 30’s/low 40’s. Temps will go back up Thursday to the mid 70’s with another chance of rain Saturday.
Quality is good. The cooler weather has eliminated a lot of the bruising issues we were having. Counts are 22-24 (occasional 26-28). We are predicting to peak around Valentine’s Day.
Pictured below: blueberry grower Jose Domingo and California Giant's Rodrigo Mira
Oxnard - Weather has been cool and cloudy. Daytime temperatures have been in the mid to low 60’s with nighttime lows in the 40’s (two nights were in the 30’s and triggered the frost alarm). There is a slight chance of rain Tuesday, but it may stay north. No major rain is forecasted until the end of the month/first week of February.
Quality is good with only occasional rain scars. Counts are 20-22 (occasional 14-18 and 22-26). Many furrows are still wet from the 5” of rain we received a week and a half ago.
Santa Maria - Weather is similar to Oxnard, with daytime highs in the mid to low 60’s and nighttime lows in the 40’s. There are chances of rain throughout the week.
One of our growers will be walking his field in about a week and is expected to pick about half a pallet of strawberries.
Blueberries - Our South American blueberry supply will remain steady through March. Currently, we are harvesting the majority of our fruit in central Chile, though we will be transitioning further south as the season progresses. Overall fruit quality has remained strong, with fruit availability on both the east & west coasts.
Pictured above: blueberries in Chile
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.
After much speculation about how much rain El Nino would bring, we received these pictures from our fieldman Steve Yamamoto in Oxnard showing the ferocity of an El Nino storm. Throughout the week of January 4th, our ranch received over five inches of rain, along with a hail storm. After the clouds opened, temps dropped from 55 degrees to 46 degrees in a matter of seconds. Luckily, our plants were not damaged.
The ground stayed wet for so many days, that last Thursday, January 14th, was the first day we were able to get tractors back into the fields to spray fungicide, which helps prevent mildew and diseases on the plants after it rains.
Another El Nino storm is forecasted at the end of January/beginning of February.
Our first eBook of the year, Black Is the New Black, is now available for download! Simply click on the picture below, answer the questionnaire, and you will be able to download our eBook with ten exclusive California Giant recipes!
Why do we offer eBooks to our shoppers? By having them fill out a simple and short survey before downloading the ebook, we are able to capture information about our consumer’s shopping habits. Where do they shop? Are they the main shopper in their household? How often do they buy berries? What kind of berry centric recipes are they looking for? Deciphering these questions helps us stay on top of shopping trends and stay connected with our consumers. Are you interested in the information we collect and how you can use it to improve your store’s berry display? Respond back to this email for more information!
Check out our California Giant blueberries spotted at BJ's in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. Have you spotted our berries lately? Snap a picture on your smart phone and send it our way!
Looking for delicious and easy breakfast ideas to start your day off right? Check out our blog post Healthy Blueberry Waffles for Busy Mornings to see just how easy it is to make these delicious and healthy waffles!
