HMC News – May 2020

Harvest has begun in our stone fruit orchards! At this point, the fruit is a little smaller than normal due to the decreased amount of time between bloom and harvest, and the timing is a little ahead of last year.  

It’s hot!  Last week we experienced rain and peak temperatures around 72°, this week’s record projected heat is as high as 109°. Grapes and stone fruit don’t like this heat any more than people. In stone fruit, extreme heat slows everything down and halts growth, causing some heat damage to the fruit – especially dark colored plums. In table grapes, any of the exposed berries not covered by foliage will burn.

A few months ago, we increased efficiency and eliminated the need for ladders by using platforms in our high density stone fruit orchards. Since then, we have started to experiment by attaching an artificial light to the same equipment to perform “night thinning.” Beginning before the sun comes up, crews are able to finish this crucial process in the cool morning hours. Going forward, we will modify our picking by transitioning this process into harvest, resulting in an optimal product by removing the afternoon heat. This is an efficient operation that benefits the workers and product by eliminating the summer heat.

We are moving rake wire in our table grape vineyards. This process opens up a wire in the middle of the trellis that helps guide and organize the canes and their growth to conform to the V shape of the trellis. There are multiple benefits of rake wire use. It helps get all of the clusters to hang out in the “fruiting zone” underneath the trellis, making maintenance and harvest more efficient. Sunlight is allowed in to hit the bottom of canes, which helps with fruitfulness in next year’s crop. A pocket forms for air to flow and escape, reducing chances of humidity getting trapped underneath the canopy.

Feeling Peachy: Activity Sheets for Kids from The Produce Moms

Stone Fruit {Tree Fruit}

Feeling peachy? Stone fruit season is in full bloom, and we couldn’t be more excited that our friends at The Produce Moms created some fun peach-themed activity sheets for kids!
Original blog on The Produce Moms website

What exactly is a stone fruit (also referred to as tree fruit)? It’s a fruit with a large, hard pit or “stone” inside of it. The stone contains the seeds or kernels of the fruit. The stone fruit category includes peaches, nectarines, plums, plumcots, apricots, cherries and more!

Let’s take a little closer at the anatomy of a stone fruit…

Feeling Peachy Activity Sheets

As we know, education is key to consumption.  We love to create activity sheets focused on fruits and veggies.  It is a great way for kids to learn more about the fresh produce that they love to eat. In our first activity sheet, we have the kids complete the basic anatomy of a peach.  Using a color-by-number approach, they will also learn what each part of the peach is called.  Also on the first activity sheet is a fun math problem.  But be careful, the math problem is a bit tricky!

Our second activity sheet is a funny & peachy story created “Mad Lib” style.  Kids will fill in the blanks with words of their choice and be able to create their own story! Some of the younger kids may need help with the parts of speech. The best part is that you can create multiple stories with this activity!  We also have a fun suggestion for adding stone fruit to your next pancake breakfast!