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We kicked off our next season of strawberry planting last Thursday. This week, growers will continue to be planting all week and picking when they can. This week we will also be experiencing a heat trend, with temperatures forecasted to get in the 90s the first part of the week, 80s the middle, and into the 70s for the weekend. Luckily, we have no rain to follow in the forecast for the next two weeks. Quality is improving significantly with the cool nights we have been having the last few weeks. Counts are ranging anywhere from 26 to 28 on 1lbs. Volume will continually go down each week until we get rain that will bring our season to an end.
Santa Maria:
As in all our California growing regions – Santa Maria will be experiencing some heat this week. Temperatures are forecasted to be 98-99 degrees range throughout town. Fruit is starting off firm in the morning hours and softens slightly by the afternoon. Counts range from 24-28 for conventional strawberries, and 28-32 for organic. Blackberries look good, but volume is low. We anticipate this heat taking a toll on them quality wise. Just last week we began planting and are due to wrap up the middle of next week. Plants look good and labor is decent. Harvests are staying on schedule but there is not a lot of excess labor.
Mexico:
In terms of weather and quality, our Mexico growing region is picking up. In Zamora, Irapuato and Los Reyes we are seeing sunny days in the low 80s, with fresh nighttime temperatures lingering in the 50s. Maravatío and Ziracuaretiro are experiencing mild temperatures in the 70 range with cool nights in the 50s as well. With the absence of rain, our crops have begun to take off in quality and firmness. Our blackberries in Los Reyes and Ziracuaretiro look great, firm, and growers are being active in delivering heavy volume. Raspberries look good in size with 24-26 count in 60oz, and are being picked in perfect timing for exportation - defects are minimal. Blueberries from Irapuato are excellent in size, quality and taste. Strawberry counts in Maravatío, Zamora and Irapuato range from 22-26, and occasional 28 – all look great in quality for exportation. We are ready to pack top notch quality strawberries from Mexico once the market improves.
Blueberries:
Weather in our Uruguayan growing region has included hail and an increased emphasis on pest pressure, which has been extremely detrimental to our blueberry crops. On the other hand, Argentina is over its peak, but still has decent volume coming to the United States for 3 more weeks. Volume is starting to increase coming out of Mexico and will continue to increase as their season ramps up. Boats will start arriving in Philadelphia this weekend from Peru - and around the middle to late November - we will see the boats from Chile start landing in Philadelphia as well. The export blue season is ramping up fast and the quality is looking excellent.
Florida:
Weather this week looks mild and temperature to start – with rain forecasted for the weekend. Plants look great, and we look forward to starting our strawberry harvest toward the first week of November. More photos of crops to come in the coming weeks!
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.
With Halloween upon us, we have been noticing lots of festive in-store displays! The holiday weekend is now just days away, and so are spooky kid’s parties and wicked adult Halloween bashes. You know what that means… consumers are looking for themed recipes, party planning ideas, and last minute costumes. With our Scary Berries promotion and eBook we hope to make the lives of our consumers easier by giving them exactly what they want by featuring all of this and more!
Some of our favorite brand ambassadors even got in the spooky spirit, and created some recipes of their own in support of our Scary Berry promotion. From a Blackberry Pumpkin Pie Nice Cream Tart, to a delicious Blackberry El Diablo Halloween Cocktail – we’re making sure our database of berry enthusiasts have the recipe inspiration to meet all their Halloween needs.
Sigona's Farmers Market at the Stanford Mall is loaded with Cal Giant strawberries!
