Market Report , Aug. 14th 2015
First big schwack of BC garlic
The apple news is that the first picks of BC Gala are now coming off the trees. Expect to see those tray packed and in the market in 10 days. Unlike many varieties, Galas have to be picked several times from each tree so there is certainly more work involved as harvesters look for the right colour. We have major storms moving through all harvest areas today, with localized hail and high winds forecast, so we once again have our fingers crossed that this outbreak won’t bring much damage.
Major port congestion in LA and Oakland have slowed down incoming banana containers so we will be supplementing later next week with Organics Unlimited GROW fruit.Other than today, weather has been perfect for continuing great harvests on peaches, nectarines and plums, which are all well-priced and selling through very well. BC Melons have replaced most California listings – and they are always sweeter! Seriously – you can tell by looking at the stem. A ripe melon “pops” off the vine with a bit of a tug, but when you look at winter melons harvested in Mexico, you can often see the stub of a vine where they have been cut – not so much sugar, but much better shelf-life. Local growers also use more traditional seed varieties that give us fast growth in short season hot conditions with higher sugar content. Grapes are stable with consistent supply across California, as well as first arrivals of BC Coronations. Red Bartlett’s – first pick of one of our most popular pears from Sundance Farm. You will see lots of Sundance Farm stuff on our list. We started with Trevor and Debbie in 1998 – they were one of the first 2 or 3 organic producers in Cawston, back when their neighbours called them “worm farmers” because they didn’t spray. That was in 1975 – 40 years ago. Their commitment and influence, along with Ron and Andrea at HeartAchers, has seen Cawston and Keremeos become an organic mecca, with a huge percentage of all orchards now organic.Lean pickings on strawberries, but sales are climbing quickly now that blueberries are wrapping up quickly across the province, and we’ve been done for a few days. The parade of plum varieties continues with late Friar’s already available. Potential now for a glut on prunes because the late varieties are ripening simultaneously with the early’s.It’s that time of year when we see more purple beans on the list. A great salad item, but for those who don’t know, these turn green when cooked – we just don’t know where the purple colour goes – do you? It being canning season, which seems to be undergoing a renaissance, those “cylindra” beets are the uniform long ones grown for slicing and canning.We know we’re really into BC Garlic season when we receive our first big schwack from Gudjonsen Farms in Creston – the largest producer in BC with consistent high quality perfect large bulbs.The rest of the vegetable selection is mostly BC and fabulous, from big heads of lettuce to beautiful field tomatoes to shiny eggplant – enjoy!Just a note – watch your yam pricing – new crop is in and small in volume and size – expect much higher prices for some time – apparently something to do with weather and water.