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Regarding COVID-19: California Giant is working hard to make every effort to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and coworkers, while maintaining SAFE business and supply continuity of fresh berries to our customers. All areas of our supply chain continues to emphasize thorough sanitation practices and social distancing protocols. Thank you for being a valued customer of California Giant - We are all in this together!
We saw a brief warming trend this past Sunday through Wednesday with temperatures reaching the high 80’s along the coast and up to 100+ inland. The fog returned Thursday, cooling down to 65-70 and a potential threat of light rain is forecasted for Friday evening. Crews will work to anticipate the added moisture, although does not seem to pose any concerns. The hot afternoons did bring some soft and overripe berries, but overall quality has remained very good. Counts are averaging 14-16, however we expect to see a slight decrease in size moving forward. Volume continues to ramp up, with peak projected to be week 25 for this area.
Weather has been in the mid-high 80’s; lows in the 50’s. Expecting a cool down this weekend, and temps in the low to mid 70’s expected for the week ahead. Counts averaging 18-20. Seeing some dark color and minor bruising throughout as a result of this week’s high temperatures. Crews are working hard to maintain quality. Planting of new beds began this week and will continue for the next 3-4 weeks in preparation for the fall crop.
Organic Strawberries:
Seeing the organic fruit size down with average clamshell counts of 24-26 as result of the heat. Cabrillo variety is looking good, with counts averaging low 20’s.
Raspberries
Watsonville-Salinas:
The past few days of heat was welcome by the raspberries and next week will bring slightly bigger volumes as the season builds to peak at the end of June. We’re seeing good quality with excellent colored berries.
Mexico:
The high temperatures are affecting the quality, however growers are doing the best to maintain excellence.
Blackberries
Watsonville-Salinas:
We’ll begin harvesting the Ouachita variety next week, with very small volumes to start. Prime Ark 45 is expected to start in July.
Georgia:
Quality is great. Weather is going to be beautiful moving through the extended forecast. Volumes are expected to increase towards the end of next week.
Mexico:
The hot weather has played a role in winding down the season, as we look to finish up in the next 10 days or so.
Blueberries
Mexico:
Volume of this Spring season crop continues to decrease, but the quality continues to be spot on. With the timing and warm temperatures, we are keeping a close watch on the smaller sized fruit in order to maintain consistent packs.
Georgia
There is some wet weather in the forecast, but growers are working around it and getting in the field and harvesting during dry windows. It was a transitional week between the end of the highbush crop and the start of the rabbiteye crop. We expect steady, yet low volumes to start, but volume will ramp up during week 25 as growers make a push toward the second and third pick of rabbiteye. The Georgia rabbiteye crop is expected to be finished around June 20th. Quality is mostly fair this week with some soft and an occasional split berry in the pack.
Central Valley California:
Volume was lighter than expected last week due to some rain that hit our farms and caused farmers to miss a couple days of harvest. The area is experiencing warm weather this week with some daily high temps exceeding 100F. The warm weather could speed up ripening and lead to larger packing volumes during the end of this week through next week. Our team is working hard to harvest fruit in a timely manner to avoid any possible damage from the fruit receiving too much heat. Volume will begin to wind down during week 24, and we expect the central valley season to be finished for both organic and conventional fruit by the end of week 25. Quality out of the central valley has been very good on both conventional and organic berries. Fruit is firm with good size and good bloom. We are anticipating the warm temps this week to lead to some soft and shriveled berries going forward, but our packers and QC team will work hard to maintain a good quality pack.
Oregon:
First pick date is expected to be June 15th, beginning with the Duke variety. We expect volumes to begin ramping up during week 26 and peak in early July. Fruit sets are looking good and it appears that most of our farms had a very good pollination this spring.
Organic Blueberries
Oxnard Organic Blueberries:
Week 24 is expected to be the final week of the Oxnard organics season. We are seeing a mix of good and fair quality this week out of Oxnard. Fruit has good size and good bloom. The main defect from lots with fair quality is soft berries.
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.
This week, we're enjoying the warmer weather by indulging in these guilt-free delights! With the addition of your favorite berries, these summer sweet treats can't be beat!
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A berry sweet message from a Walmart shopper:
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"These blackberries were some of the sweetest and best berries I've ever had. This is very important to me as I love blackberries but I rarely buy them because of the price. I decided to splurge on these and I'm very glad that I did. Amazing berries." |
We love to see your displays celebrating the peak of season bounty with large packs, such as our 3LB strawberries. Be sure to share photos of your Peak of Season Cal Giant berry displays with us!
