BC ground crop harvests steadily increasing

The next apples in the local lineup will be Sunrise and Early Golds.  We expected some of the Early Gold this week but there was a rain delay in harvest, and with heavy rain in the forecast today and tomorrow, it’s unlikely we’ll see them until the weekend.  We’re seeing some better late season cots that were smaller and greener when hail hit.  Outrageous weather continues to keep everyone on their toes, with major storms north of Vernon ravaging some ground crops over the last couple of days.  Great supply of large, high quality Skeena and Lapin cherries from Sproule’s – they have still managed to miss most of the storms and are harvesting on schedule.  Blueberries in good supply, with thunderstorms over the Fraser Valley last night not producing much rain.  Mango sales are brisk as we transition to Baja Sud where we always find vibrant colour, high sugar, and no need for hot water treatment.  A continuing supply of JW strawberries at our regular seasonal contract pricing. Lots of melons just arriving for a projected hot spell for the rest of the week.  The long awaited arrival of interior ground crops has started, with cherry tomatoes, slicers, romas and eggplant now hitting some good volumes.  Normally arriving in late July, many growers walked past their first flush of tomatoes – heavy rains created thin skins and large watery fruit, but now we’re into some great eating product.  A lot more listings of local and regional veg, with Joe Siri’s broccoli and peppers now listed, and Forrest Nelson’s field cukes.  GBE is now in production of their heritage beans as well.  More Walla Walla onions in– this will be the last shot of these great, sweet onions – perfect for salads, grilling, even baked in the oven!  We’re expecting some new varieties of local spuds to start over the next 10 days, starting with nuggets.