March 11, 2019

Happy Monday!

We're almost halfway through March, and just a week shy of the first day of spring. Spring in of itself is a season we love to celebrate as berry growers - the temperatures begin to slowly warm up, our crops begin to blossom, and lots of berries draw near. This week is starting off sunny in our California growing regions and a nice push in volume should be on the way - we couldn't think of a better way to step into spring!

For more information, including crop and weather reports, please scroll below.

Crop Updates

Santa Maria

We had clear weather this morning and the rest of the week looks to be dry with mostly sunny skies.  Moving forward, weather should be in our favor and volume should pick up. As of now, both San Andreas and Fronteras varieties have taken a decent hit from the rain, with San Andreas slightly worse off. Counts are 12-14 for Fronteras and 14-16 for San Andreas. Although there is some water damage out in the fields, we have a new flower set coming in and March may be slow, but come April and May volume will be booming. Our organic spring crop is 16-20 count and will size up in the weeks ahead once the new flower set comes out.

2019-03-11_13-33-03-934

2019-03-11_13-32-58-849

Unknown-1-14 
SM1
 

Oxnard:

Overall fruit and packs look very nice today. Color is at 90-95 percent, and size is 14-16 count in both Fronteras and San Andreas. Some of the furrows are still fairly muddy from the recent rains and for now, we are just waiting for them to dry out and maintaining any necessary clean up in the fields. There is a lot of fruit coming soon - the plants are really beginning to load up, and it looks like we may have a slight warming trend heading into the weekend, with 70+ degrees, which will help push the numbers for next week.

IMG_7222

IMG_7228
IMG_7209

IMG_7208

 

Mexico:

We are having generally the same weather pattern all over central Mexico with highs in the 80s during the day, and lows in the 50s in the morning with partly cloudy skies. We are seeing a minor hindrance in raspberry production in Jocotepec due to some thrip damage, but overall quality is looking good with the exception of some light colored fruit here and there. We plan to prune the fields following our seasons to have less pests and negative effects on our crops as we transition. As for both blueberries and blackberries - quality is looking great and we have no significant defects to report. 

2019-03-11_12-50-06-120

2019-03-11_12-50-06-281 
2019-03-11_12-50-06-790 
2019-03-11_12-50-07-180
 
2019-03-11_12-50-07-858


  

Florida:

Weather this week in Florida looks to be in the mid 80s with lows in the 60s, and rain potentially on the horizon for the weekend. Out in the fields we are seeing some white shoulders, but overall, we expect this to clear up with the sun and warm weather at the start of this week. We are picking good quality, two day fruit everywhere and sizing is 20-24 in Brilliance, and 18-20 in Sensation. Radiance is done for the season, as are organics. We have a few weeks left of the Florida season and and expect a strong finish.

FL2-1

FL 1-1 

Weather Conditions

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. 

Watsonville

Salinas

Santa Maria

Oxnard

Mexico

Georgia

Florida

South America

 

Stepping into Spring
We're stepping into spring in just over a week, and we don't know about you - but we can't wait. With the time change behind us and more hours of daylight ahead of us, so comes fresh, seasonal berry recipes to take on the go for those after work hikes, healthy snacking as we gear up for summer vacations in a few short months, and the perfect sweet treats to stop cravings in their tracks. Below, we have chosen our top 5 California Giant recipes that consumers should watch out for this season!
 
Grab 'n go meals are all the craze right now as convenience is key, so this sweet & savory take on the classic grilled cheese is one to be sure to pack with you on your next daytime outing. 
 
Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 10.04.20 AM
  
Consumers may have enjoyed themselves quite a bit this winter (as they should!) with skillet desserts and warm comfort foods to get us through the cold weather. As spring approaches, shopper's are looking for ways to tone up, detox from the sweets and look and feel their very best. This berry detox smoothie can clean up any dirty diet with it's powerhouse of nutrients from our fresh mixed berries.
 
Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 10.04.58 AM
 
With more daylight hours there are no excuses to not fire up the BBQ after work. This seafood dish is light, fresh, and easy. This innovative combo is the perfect mix of sweet and savory, especially for all our seafood lovers out there who also love our berries too!
 
Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 10.05.40 AM
 
This decadent dessert dish just screams spring. With this on the menu, guests will be sure to take to Instagram to show off all the vibrant hues. This looks so good you can almost taste it, huh?!
 
Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 10.07.36 AM
 
What's springtime without some spring rolls? In all seriousness.. if you're in the mood for asian-flare, these will be your new go-to. Save a little room the chow mein and start off with these fresh, flavorful starters.
 
Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 10.05.17 AM
 
Consumer Spotlight
                             
    This consumer is a big California Giant blueberry fan, and we don't blame them! Our blue dynamos are as sweet as can be.
                                                            Screen Shot 2019-03-11 at 8.27.41 AM                                               
                                                                       
Pick of the Week
We appreciate our veterans and everything they do, that is why we supply the very best California Giant strawberries to the Ord Community Commissary in Marina, CA.
 
Ord Community Commissary
 
  Send us your own "pick of the week" and we will feature it here!
 

Leave a Comment

Subscribe

Recent Posts