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Watsonville-Salinas:
Weather in Watsonville-Salinas should be dry and mild through next week - conditions look partly sunny and in the 60s through the weekend with temperatures in the 70s next week and mostly sunny skies. Since about this time last week we started the clean up process in our fields and have been able to assess damages from the recent storms, and to our surprise, quality has held up very well through the recent rainfall we have experienced in this region. There is, of course, some damages among the crops from the moisture, but very minimal at this point. We anticipate a few more days of necessary clean up in the fields, and then we will be fully back on track by Monday. Fields are loaded right now and quality is overall good. Counts are 10-12 with organics mostly 14-16. Damages are more prominent among our organics - specifically the Sweet Ann variety - but nothing too significant. We are looking toward heavy volume weeks ahead in June as our peak week is forecasted for the middle of the month, just in time to kick off the summer season.
Santa Maria:
The week started off overcast and windy in our Santa Maria region with temperatures mostly in the low-mid 60s. Next week, we anticipate a warming trend with temperatures to reach the mid-low 70s with sunny skies. Crop quality looks good and San Andreas is 18-22 with a clean pack. We are seeing very minimal wind scarring on this variety but nothing excessive. Monterey is 17-20 - slightly smaller but holding up a bit better than the San Andreas following these California rain events. Our organic San Andreas is holding up really nice at 20-24 count, with organic Cabrillo 18-20 count and slightly softer. Our Monterey fall crop looks nice and uniform, and we are beginning to plant our Portola variety the next few weeks as well.
Blueberries:
Georgia Blueberries:
We packed the last of the highbush crop earlier this week. Our Rabbiteye season will continue from here on. One of our largest Rabbiteye growers began harvesting this week, and they are picking the Brightwell variety - fruit quality looks great.
Oxnard Organic Blueberries:
Quality is good overall and weather next week should be in the 60s-70s. Our Springhigh and Emerald varieties are the strongest at the moment. We are still in the middle of the peak this week, and it looks like they will continue to pick into late June.
Central Valley Blueberries:
Both our packing houses are packing a lot of volume this week. Quality is good overall. Next week will be the peak weak for the Central Valley season.
Oregon Blueberries:
Our Oregon regions have sunny skies and warm weather on the forecast for the next few days - temperatures in the 70s-80s and the potential for showers next Thursday. Fruit quality is good, and we are expecting most Willamette growers to be picking large duke volumes at the end of June.
Mexico:
Temperatures are still in the mid-high 90s during the day with low 60s - high 50s at night. There have been light drizzles in our blackberry regions but no damages have been done to the crop. Last weekend and during the week we also had light rains in the afternoons in Zamora. With the high temperatures, it is common to see soft, and uneven ripening of fruit - raspberries are holding up well despite these hot temperatures and crews are doing a great job at keeping packs clean. We have decent volume projected for June, with the end of season projected for mid-July. Blueberries are sweet with good bloom and packs look nice and firm. We have few growers remaining at this time, with a projected end of season for the last week of June. As for blackberries, next week will be the last week for Mexico blackberries as we have since transitioned into our Watsonville-Georgia growing regions.
Georgia Blackberries:
Blackberries are looking excellent in quality and remaining consistent in volume. Weather is hot in our Georgia regions, and labor remains a non-issue at this time.
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.
We have welcomed a few more sponsors to the Chef Invitational this year!
We are happy to announce that Baker's Bacon, B&R Farms, the True Olive Connection, Marich Pancrafted Chocolates and Sumano's Bakery will be sponsoring this year's 2nd annual Chef Invitational.
We are so appreciative of all our sponsors generous support to help bring this culinary experience to life, and look forward to another successful event in just a few short weeks. Make sure to RSVP for the Chef Invitational if you haven't already!
We have a cake expert on our hands here at the California Giant headquarters. Sales Coordinator, Melissa Schmitt shared this delicious, homemade California Giant blueberry-lemon cake with the office this week. It's safe to say it didn't last very long!
