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Our growing regions throughout California were hit with some much need rain over the past few weeks. However, forecasters are predicting a dry spell for the next 10 to 15 days. This warming trend will help to clean up fields and produce some much needed volume. The next El Nino storm is predicted to hit California right around the first day of Spring, March 20th – March 21st.
Our South American blueberry program is coming to an end, and we have transitioned into our domestic blueberry program.
For more information on our growing regions, and to view our newly renovated consumer blog, The Buzz, scroll below!
Pictured above: the first harvest of organic strawberries in Salinas, California
Florida - The weather was warm last week and will continue to be warm this week. Some cloud cover will help with the warm temps.
Quality has been good. With the warmer temps, our growers will be doing a two day pick.
Oxnard - A half inch of rain fell last Monday in about the span of an hour and a half, damaging about 10% of the fruit. There was a hail storm reported in the area, but it did not affect our ranches. Last Thursday was nice with temps in the mid 70’s, but then we received a ½” of rain on Friday in less than one hour. The fruit was not damaged.
Quality is very nice with good color and flavor. Counts are 12-14 (occasional 10-12 and 14-16).
Santa Maria - Last week daytime temps were in the mid/upper 60’s, with nighttime lows in the mid/upper 40’s. From March 5th – March 13th we received almost four inches of rain. A dry pattern is forecasted after this week and is suppose to last 10-15 days.
Quality has been good with occasional green tips. Counts are 12-16.
Watsonville - The Watsonville/Salinas area received 5” of rain the weekend of March 4th that resulted in a lot of flooding. We received about 3” of rain this past weekend. After this week, a dry pattern is forecasted for 10-15 days.
Mexico - We are done harvesting strawberries for the season. We have a limited availability of blackberries due to rain and hail damage.
Blueberries - Our South American program is coming to an end. We will have SA fruit for the next two weeks, and that will conclude the season. We have transitioned now to our domestic program and have conventional and organic blueberries available in limited supply. Over the next two weeks our organic volume should increase significantly. The domestic regions we are transitioning into include California, Georgia, and Florida, in which significant production will resume mid April through all of June.
El Nino Update – The next chance of an El Nino storm is predicted to arrive between March 20th - 22nd.
Pictured below: organic blueberries in California
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.
From our blueberry fields in Moorpark, to our strawberry fields in Watsonville, El Nino hit our fields hard over the past few weeks. From March 5th to March 13th our fields in Santa Maria received 4” of rain, and Watsonville received 3” of rain just over the weekend.
This much needed rain has dramatically increased our percentage of normal rainfall from this time last year. According to Weather Underground, at this time last year, the Watsonville area had only received 80% of normal rainfall. But as of today, we are at 121% of the norm.
Our next chance of an El Nino storm is predicted to arrive between March 20th -22nd.
In recent months, our Buzz blog subscribers (your shoppers!) have requested that our blog showcase larger photos, easy-to-print recipes, and an easier to navigate homepage. After much thought on the style and functionality of our blog, we are happy to announce our newly renovated blog will be launched today!
Check out our California Giant strawberries spotted at Target. Have you spotted our berries lately? Snap a picture on your smart phone and send it our way!
Need recipe inspiration for St. Patrick's Day? Check out our consumer blog The Buzz for recipes like this Guinness chocolate cake with strawberries.
