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Watsonville - Salinas:
We received a good amount of rainfall last week in this region, with fields beginning to clean up this week and great quality fruit with good size still underway. The rain was essential for our plants and will help produce healthier, bigger plants in the weeks ahead. Dry, clear days are in our immediate forecast with temperatures ranging in the high 60s – low 70s and harvest dates in mid-late April.
Santa Maria:
This region received a few inches of rain in last week’s spring storm, however most growers think this moisture was good for the plants. This week, weather is warming up into the mid-high 70s with clear days ahead in the immediate forecast. Fields are being cleaned up, and luckily all drained very well during last weeks rainfall. Overall, quality is still in decent shape with only minor setbacks. Size is strong among Monterey at 18-22, low 20s in San Andreas, Organic San Andreas is in the mid-teens, and Organic Monterey 22-24.
Oxnard:
We have made a complete round of clean up since last week’s rain. The fruit that was packed yesterday was very good – with just the occasional dry rain scar. Juice is still being picked off plants, but the numbers are very light compared to the week prior. Despite some initial damage from the storms – we welcomed the rain to nourish and hydrate our plants. This week, with dry and breezy conditions in the forecast fields will begin to improve and dry out. We are expecting warmer temperatures this week in the low 70s with volume to pick up as well.
Mexico:
The Mexico strawberry season has winded down as temperatures have ramped up in Zamora to the high 80s-low 90s and quality was not holding well in the heat, but we are still producing good bushberry quality among our blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Ziracuaretiro, Los Reyes and Maravatío all remain in the low 80s, with good quality among these commodities still underway.
Blueberries:
Our Chilean season has wrapped up, with our Georgia blueberry season kicking off soon. This region has experienced some showers here and there – if weather permits and remains warm we anticipate our start date remaining the week of April 16th with a lot of good quality blues on the way.
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.
Everyone knows that Easter morning is always celebrated with a scrumptious brunch – that’s why we have all the brunching inspiration for our consumers this weekend with our Brunching with Berries eBook that launched just last week on the first day of spring. We thought this eBook would be fitting for spring occasions ahead such as Easter, Mother’s Day, baby showers, and those slow weekend mornings meant for friends and family.
Once volume ramps up among our growing regions, we know our berries will be the go-to ingredient for brunching bashes ahead. Our blogger, KISS IN THE KITCHEN whipped up a few brunch worthy snacks with our berries to promote spring season shopping (and her very own baby shower!) – check out her Facebook Live segment here for an interactive view of all the fun.
Each week we are one step closer to our First Annual Chef Invitational event, and not only are WE excited, we love knowing our foodservice partners and chef participants can hardly wait too! In the weeks ahead as we lead up to the chef showdown we will be answering any and all questions that come to mind. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our foodservice director, Tom Smith at tsmith@calgiant.com, and we will be sure to feature your question as our question of the week in our Trade Buzz Newsletter and Blog.
Question of the Week:
Is it possible to submit more than 5 chef submissions per company?
Answer:
Yes. While our recommendation is to select up to five chefs with one recipe each, we are willing to accept more. Please inquire with Tom Smith tsmith@calgiant.com if you intend on having more than 5 chef submissions.
Our organic strawberries really are just THAT sweet! We’re glad this consumer loves them as much as we do – thanks Janie!
This Texas H-E-B has got the organics!
