In the beginning of this month we continued to prepare for new planting in our orchards. Once the old trees are pushed out, they go into an industrial wood chipper. The ground wood is then incorporated back into the soil on our farms. Through this process, we are doing our part to capture carbon in the atmosphere and fix it in the soil. Chipping the wood also eliminates the need to burn old trees, which can have a negative impact on the air quality in the Central Valley. The next step will be to go in and break up the compacted soil (a process we call ripping) and level out the ground.
We are slowly coming to end of table grape harvest with less than 10% of our grapes left to harvest. We are clipping and cleaning bunches during packing more than we had expected in order to remove sunburned berries from the summer heat waves and grapes impacted by October rain. The finished quality of grapes in the box still looks excellent, but additional effort is required to get it that way. Our final production numbers are expected to be a bit less than our pre-harvest estimates as we slowly wrap up.
At the end of this month we found ourselves almost fully prepped to plant new trees in our stone fruit orchards. The next steps toward planting are marking the planting rows and installing the underground irrigation system. After those final tasks are complete, we just need to wait for the nursery to deliver our trees, and we can begin planting in January.
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, which kicks off the holiday season. Holiday traditions often revolve around food, and if we’re being honest, food is one of the things we look forward to most throughout the holiday season. At HMC Farms, we eat what we grow, and that means that our Thanksgiving table includes plenty of HMC Farms table grapes! In the spirit of our farm table, we’ve gathered some ideas for you to add to your own Thanksgiving table. Let us know if you try any of these by tagging us in your photos on social media, or leaving a comment here on our blog.
Holiday charcuterie
Charcuterie boards are popular for a reason, and we love the versatility of a block of wood piled up with all of our favorite snacks. We used a variety of cheeses, fruit, and other snacks in this charcuterie board-see the list below. Vegetarians or vegans can easily adapt this to their dietary specifications by ditching the salami, and swapping out the cheese for dairy alternatives. Nut allergy? Swap out the nuts for more crackers or some veggies. As long as you keep the grapes, we approve!
Here’s what we used on our holiday charcuterie board:
HMC Farms red seedless table grapes
Aged white cheddar
Habanero & jalapeño cheddar
Two types of salami
Pomegranate
Almonds
Pistachios
Fig crisps
Sprigs of rosemary for greenery
Stuffing with roasted grapes
Tired of the same old boring stuffing with that turkey? Try mixing it up with the addition of roasted grapes! This is a winning choice because you can keep the same exact recipe (or box of mix) you always use, and just stir the roasted grapes in at the end. An additional bonus here is that roasting is a great option for grapes that are getting a little wrinkly or soft. Roasting grapes is as easy as plucking them off the stem, rinsing, tossing them in olive oil and a little bit of sea salt on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and popping them in the oven. The process is very simple, and you can up the ante a little bit here by adding thyme or rosemary when tossing the grapes in olive oil.
Looking for more on roasted grapes? Check out this guide from our friends at The Produce Moms.
Baked feta with roasted grapes
Yes, we are recommending two dishes that contain roasted grapes because they are really that good. If you haven’t tried roasted grapes before, you are truly missing out on a versatile topping or ingredient that can fit into many savory or sweet dishes. If you are a feta fan, you’ve probably tried the trendy baked feta pasta, and we don’t blame you. Quick and easy recipes are perfect to include in Thanksgiving, since you’re already spending plenty of time and effort on everything else. Rather than the main course, this is a great appetizer or side dish, or even the perfect centerpiece for your charcuterie board. Serve it with crackers or rustic bread and thank us later. You can find our recipe for baked feta and roasted grapes on our Instagram page or check out the similar recipe that inspired us on the Grapes from California website.
