Buyer's Notes - May 21, 2021
Buyer’s Notes - May 21, 2021
Stefan Misse, Carter Selmes-Blythe, Brody Irvine, Jon Maheswaran - Discovery Organics
From Stefan:
Apples – nothing new to report. Southern Hemisphere Granny Smith arrive in a couple of weeks.
Berries - great pricing and selection overall and all berry growers are asking for promotions. Feast or famine.
Grapefruit - the Mexican harvests are done and we will transition to solely USA fruit in the next week or so.
Oranges - still a few Navels being packed although total supply is nearly done. Still good volume on Mexican Valencia bags. California Valencia will start soon as Sonora desert crop ends.
Citrus - Pixies and Gold Nuggets still packing and still eating great!
Lemons - steady here this week although pricing changes will likely jump again soon with no new regions opening up until the fall.
Mango – next week is a bit of a supply gap due to shifting harvest locations. We grabbed extra volume this weekend to cover any potential shorts. Larger fruit is hard to come by on rounds.
Stonefruit – expect the full array of California fruit over the next few weeks. Pricing will reflect supply in each area until the market settles out.
From Carter:
Asparagus – hit of hot weather/cold weather/thunderstorms etc. to our neighbours in Washington, the current growing area so we are experiencing a shortage of supply of Washington Asparagus. The next arrival will be Tuesday. We do have MX arriving Sunday for support.
Beans – Rico program running for another 2 weeks. We will transition over to California next!
Eggplant – should see CA Eggplant next week as Mexico flame is flickering and about to blow out.
LE Cucumbers – OriginO back up and running with healthy production starting Monday.
Fiddleheads – we are in good production till the first week of June.
Onions - California’s harvest is in full swing on early Sweet varieties. Still many weeks away from storage varieties to ripen.
Peppers – green bells finishing up out of MX. Last arrival Sunday. We will transition to CA.
Potatoes – look out for new crop Reds starting next week… Red/Yellow Nuggets arriving in Vancouver early in the week.
Heirlooms Tomatoes – support local and our FT program from Wholesum.
Mushrooms – healthy supplies across the board on mushrooms.
Roma Tomatoes – FT fruit available from Divine Flavor!
Zucchini – new crop CA arriving Wednesday next week… roughly 3 weeks away from hoop house BC zucchini.
Hard Shell Squash – Butternut back in stock Sunday and California squash should be available starting early July.
From Brody:
Local Season! Things are really starting to ramp up here as we’ve been enjoying some perfect weather conditions for an early start to the season. Multiple farms are now coming on with fresh crops including Snow Farms, Longview, Olera, Two EEs, and Close to Home. Early spring greens and fast growers are the highlights, as well as lettuce grown under shelter.
Arugula – locally grown from our farmer pals at Olera and Longview. This mildly spicy leafy green is perfect for salads, sandwiches, breakfast, and pizza. Make some room for these tasty greens on the shelf and watch it fly.
Mizuna – same story here but for those wanting even more spice in their life! We’ll have green mizuna and new to us this year is some red mizuna from Snow Farms. A hot take for a nice long weekend!
Baby Bok Choy – this cold weather crop is a perfect spring and fall crop for our local growers (summer can be a bit too hot for this fickle veg). This short window that Snow Farms has availability should transition well to the plantings from Blue House Organics… and we have some great deals on baby bok choy from Lakeside as well.
Beets – we have your beet selection covered! Great quality Chioggia from Bianche Organics, Golds from Siri and Sons, and Reds from multiple farms including our grower partners in Mexico = Ecocampos, which will keep us supplied through the summer as we await the return of the local season in August.
Artichokes – the coastal California region is getting into peak production on artichokes right now and it’s the season to promote this super fun spring delicacy! So many ways to enjoy this thistle flower… but the best is steaming and dipping the leaves in a garlic lemon butter.
Fava Beans – a great cover crop for growers to fix some nitrogen in the soil… this crop provides the bonus of absolutely delicious fresh beans. An absolute favourite here at Discovery! These beans take a bit of effort to peel and uncover, but oh my is that nutty earthy sweetness worth it.
Sorrel – the tangy lemony herb is back in our stables! And from the amazing small independent grower, Sunrise Organic Farm, based around Lampoc, California. They are fantastic specialty grower so expect to see some other cool and fun produce items coming up as they get into their full catalogue. Shake things up in the produce department and get creative with some fun and exciting offerings!
Carrots – the bunched carrots from Capay are back! Easily one of the best tasting carrots on the market at the moment.
From Jon:
Watermelon Bins - sun is out! Good supply!
Honeydew/Cantaloupes/Mini Watermelons - solid pricing and some promotional opportunities on smaller cantaloupe – Mexico will start to wind down as soon as California desert areas open up – expect California prices to be significantly higher – reflecting the water shortages and some growers not able to plant this year.
Grapes - red and green available as the Mexican season ramps up.