Market Report - July 10th 2015
THE VEGETABLE STORY IS CHALLENGING THIS WEEK
There are shortages on some crops and gluts on others, and with this rapid change from 14 days of record heat to what is now cool, damp and drizzly, it will be a moving target. A few items like spinach and cilantro will be tight, because some growers just couldn’t get enough water on them and rows bolted. Chard has suffered as well, with fairly tight supply. We are currently bringing in spinach, cilantro and scatterings of black kale from farther south. The selection of BC crop in general continues to increase with the first local cherry tomatoes arriving as well as BC potatoes. Our first Warba and Warba Nuggets are highlighted – supply is ample, and considering they are from Pemberton, where two huge fires are burning in the vicinity, they may come pre-scented with that campfire roasted potato smell already!
Most of the news is around our local stone-fruit season where cherries and cots from the Similkameen and Okanagan are already winding down, with some growers completely finished on both. A very short heat-inspired season and very early harvest. That being said, expect a continuous flow of cherries and plums from Sproule’s in Oyama. Neil and Jacqui farm on a hill at the very tip of the Okanagan growing area, and luckily missed every brutal thunderstorm that hit that area last week, but enjoyed more cloud cover and less intense heat than growers to the south in Oliver and Cawston, and their parade of beautiful fruit has just started to flow. Always a quality shipper, we’re expecting a great run over several weeks of cherries starting with Lapins and Rainiers.Some US import crops, especially broccoli has seen an incredible shift from glut to tight, with prices increasing 400% from some shippers mid-week – a very fast adjustment!Root supply is good, with great movement on Walla Walla onions as the highlight of the season – these super-sweet onions don’t deserve to see a frying pan – perfect for grilling, salads and sandwiches!Origino has been tight on peppers as they move to newer plants but we are managing to stay supplied, with normal production levels expected shortly. Some new trials from Origino this year included cherry tomatoes and mini peppers. The variety of cherry’s they trialed are a little on the big side for clam-shells, which is why we are offering them (successfully!) in bulk, or we are packing into open-pints at our end, but no reason to not merchandise them in bulk – it gives them that “local and just-picked” appeal. Origino grew cherry tomatoes back a few years – some of you may remember that – so it’s nice to have them back. There are a few more trials they are running on a variety of crops which you can expect to see pop up on our list over the next couple of weeks, although volumes will be small because these are just small trials.You will see some amazing stuff on today’s list – BC Jalapeno Peppers for one – take a second look at the locations on today’s list – many are things we have never listed this time of year from interior ground-croppers!Thanks for all the great movement on avocados! As we told you, the container they were being stored in couldn’t keep them cold enough during the hot spell – and a difference of 2 degrees makes a difference. They are beautiful, but will ripen on the shelf a little faster than normal. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, because, speaking personally, nothing pisses me off more than deciding to cook Mexican, racing out to the store to buy a few avocados and have nothing but green hard rocks to choose from – I hate making guacamole in a food processor! And a reminder that this is the last of the 2014-2015 season avocados – which are always the best – oily, rich, creamy. We’ve adjusted our pricing, (especially on larger sizes) for the coming week. New crop is being harvested, we have a load leaving Mexico today and will transition over in 10 days.After living in a soup of fire smoke for the last week, those of us here on the coast were delighted to actually see the sun for a few hours yesterday, and rejoiced in clean-smelling ocean air and drizzle today.And in the “bizarre weather” category, check out this website of snow last night in California!http://www.nbclosangeles.com/blogs/worth-the-drive/Christmas-in-July-Surprise-Snow-at-Tioga-Pass-312960221.html