STAY UP TO DATE
DISCOVER THE LATEST NEWS
EXPLORE MORE
As we ease into the imported table grape season, there is a bit of trepidation paired with hopefulness for the remainder of the Peruvian season. The total volume shipped to the US from Peru is now close to even with last year. The previous year was much earlier with a majority of the Peruvian volume arriving in November -December, in contrast to this year where a majority of the fruit landed the end of December and early January. Chilean and Peruvian vessels have been delayed by record sized waves on the Pacific Coast. The East coast strike is still uncertain,…
Our California table grape harvest is finished for the season. We will continue to ship seedless table grapes from California throughout this month. Due to the drought in Peru, the crop size and availability of Peruvian grapes present a lot of questions, with very few answers. We will continue to update as information becomes available. In our vineyards, we removed the vine cover from our late season varieties. Our pre-pruners have been hard at work this month, cutting back the excess growth from our vines this season. Removing this growth makes the hand pruning process mush easier, allowing individuals to…
The California season is still going strong, but we have already NOVEMBER 6, 2024 begun planning for the offshore table grape season. Peru had an initial estimate of 80 million boxes, the largest table grape crop in their history. However, the effects of an extreme drought are coming to a head in the northern growing region of Piura. The Poechos Reservoir, the primary source of surface water in the arid region, isessentially empty and local communities have started to run out of drinking water. Large producers in the region expect that surface water deliveries for agricultural production will be cut…
With the tree fruit season winding down, now is when we focus on replenishing the soil for the season to come. Earlier this year, when flowers and leaves were present, tissue and soil samples were taken from the orchards and vineyards. This gave us a snapshot of the plant nutrient status. Samples were studied so that each block could receive a custom blend of fertilizer to keep it healthy and performing at its peak. Now that harvest is almost complete, we continue to replenish the soil with compost. Compost enriches the soil with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, while also…
We are finally seeing full harvests on Krissy, a variety we had to walk away from in several fields after last year’s tropical storm. In addition to Krissy, we’re harvesting Scarlet Royals, Timco, Ivory, and Great Green. It appears overall volume has moved up a bit due to good color movement on the reds and temperatures in the low 100’s/high 90’s. Temperatures will sneak back up this week for a bit, but our hope is that this is the last heat wave of the season. We will continue to harvest these mid-season varieties in full force and anticipate a smooth…
In the Central Valley, weather patterns have become increasingly erratic, reflecting broader shifts in climate. Historically known for its hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, we are now experiencing more frequent and intense temperature extremes, with hotter heatwaves and unpredictable cold snaps. The once reliable winter rains have become less predictable, contributing to periods of severe drought interspersed with heavy, destructive storms. This variability disrupts traditional agricultural practices, threatens water resources, and challenges the resilience of local ecosystems. This has caused unpredictable shifts in pricing and availability produce. The biggest issue is that the quality can be affected in…
Never in our history have we experienced this many consecutive days at temperatures so extreme. To prepare we are irrigating more frequently and with greater quantities of water in both our orchards and our vineyards. We are also applying heat protection materials to combat the high heat on our mature and mostly mature stone fruit. We will do our best to harvest as much tree fruit as possible in the hours available which will be very limited in this heat. Our workers safety is of the upmost importance in weather this extreme. We began harvesting California table grapes in a…
The hot days tend to slow the rate of tree fruit maturity, leading to a delayed or extended harvest on varieties we are currently picking, or will pick within the next week. We are adding nutrient applications to our plum orchards to help protect them from sunburn and heat stress. Grapes are growing rapidly and are vulnerable to sunburn at this stage of maturity. We are doing our best to grow the canopy as much as possible for protection for the berries. So far, this year has been excellent for surface water deliveries. We had a better than average winter,and…
Other than a few big spring storms, the weather has been ideal for tree fruit maturation. We started harvest with the yellow and white peaches, yellow and white nectarines and organics. Plum harvest began at the end of May. The early season plums are a delicious nod to what is to come, building excitement for our proprietary Plumsicle. We are already taking prebookings for the sweetest part of summer, so be sure to contact your HMC Farms representative so you don’t miss out on Plumsicle, our favorite fruit of the season. We are in the process of thinning our late…
Widespread hail hit many of our growing regions over the month. There was some damage from the storms, but we remain optimistic. Most of the hail appeared to be “slushy”. Slushy hail does not penetrate the skin of the fruit as deeply or as firm or icy hail, so the damage (if any) is less substantial. We are also hopeful because a percentage of the most vulnerable varieties were covered with hail netting, a practice we will rely on more in future seasons (see images for reference). With hail damage, the overall volume loss is not always significant, but the…
