Farmers Blog

A few months ago the USDA came out with a new standard guideline for making smart food choices. The pyramid, which has been around for over 18 years, has rounded out a bit after previous complaints. Confusion about exactly how much is one serving, and should a 5’2” woman and a 6’4” man be required …

Contrary to popular belief, green, also known as white, grapes also contain antioxidants. A recent study that looked at the total antioxidant capacity, as measured by ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), of green grapes and red grapes found significant levels in each: The red grapes had an antioxidant capacity of 2016 while the green grapes …

For years people have been asking for a healthy snack alternative, and HMC Farms has an answer. Washed and ready-to-eat fresh grapes, available in bags and trays! These grapes can be found in schools, grocery stores, amusement parks and anywhere else fresh grapes are served. Grapes are destemmed daily in our on-site fresh processing plant, …

Grapes contain a natural mix of antioxidants that help support a healthy heart and may offer an array of other health benefits. Studies have shown that grapes may help support a healthy cardiovascular system in the following ways: · by preventing platelet aggregation (which can lead to clot formation) · enhancing arterial flexibility and function …

HMC Farms made an investment and commitment to plums in 2001 for the same reason that we developed a tree ripe peach and nectarine program over 25 years ago. We believed that the industry was not dedicated to producing a good tasting piece of fruit. As a result the industry’s plum sales fell from 14.6 …

Many tree fruit varieties do not grow from their own seed. They are propagated by grafting plant material from the desired variety onto a specially bred rootstock. The rootstock is root system and usually the bottom two to three inches of the trunk. Just as picking tree fruit or pruning trees, grafting is also a …

It’s finally hot here in the San Joaquin Valley! Temperatures in the upper 90’s and low 100’s put us much closer to our normal weather pattern. Lunch Bunch® grape harvest in Mexico and Coachella is winding down and we are waiting for the harvest to start in our own vineyards. Harvest timing looks about week …

HMC stands for Harold and Mike Company. In 1987 Harold and Mike founded HMC Farms because they wanted to grow and sell a piece of fruit they could be proud to put their names on. Today we still believe that increasing consumption of the fruit we grow is our true measure of success.

HMC Farms works closely with our advisors to keep the soil in optimum tree fruit growing condition. During the spring and summer months the trees use the nutrients in the soil as fuel to grow the fruit. Every fall we take samples of the soil to evaluate which nutrients have been depleted. After careful evaluation …

1. Hand selected by the picker – Our field crews come back year after year and all of them know our philosophy, we ripen fruit the old fashioned way, we leave it on the tree. Several picks, and hourly instead of piece work wages is just the beginning of how we work towards the perfect …