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Our early season varieties are in full bloom. We expect our mid and late season varieties to be in full bloom by the end of the month. The rainstorm we were expecting this month fizzled. The estimates started at over half an inch and the final total was .2inches. There is rain predicted again with some cold weather to follow. Now is when we watch the weather, prepare for what we can, and wait and hope until Spring. This year, HMC is receiving its first grapes imported from Chile under the newly approved Systems Approach Protocol. The Systems Approach replaces…
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…
Fall is finally upon us. With the last 100+ degree day behind us we can begin to prepare for the season ahead. Rain is not forecasted in the foreseeable future, but we are prepared. Our late season table grape vines are now covered to protect them from any precipitation we may have between now and the end of harvest. The covers are perforated in the middle so that rain can drip down in the center of the V-trellis without falling directly on the grape bunches. Our late season grape crop is looking to be of great quality, although earlier than…
A summer storm made its way to the Central Valley this month. An estimated 1/4″ of rain touched down on our farms, which is unprecedented at this time of year. Some stone showed hardly any impact, while other blocks were more significantly impacted. It appears that the rain impacted all commodities to some degree and the varieties that were just ready to be harvested and in the middle of harvest were most severely affected. Table grape harvest remains ongoing. We’re seeing an impressive crop of green seedless varietals coming out of our vineyards this year. All commodities appear to be…
For immediate release: HMC Farms® has partnered with Tevel Aerobotics Technologies to pilot their drone harvesting system utilizing Flying Autonomous Robots. Each robot has the ability to fly, locate fruit, harvest and place the fruit all on its own with no human interaction required. HMC Farms has a reputation for pursuing cutting edge ag technology. Drew Ketelsen, Vice President and Farm Manager, has a background in civil engineering which gives him a unique perspective on farming and technology. He and Jon McClarty, President of HMC Farms and Drew’s brother-in-law, work together to stay updated on the latest developments and test…
We are tipping and thinning clusters in our table grape vineyards. During this process, each grape cluster is inspected and clipped to reduce the density of berries and obtain a manageable overall bunch size. At this point, we are getting into a nice harvest groove. Peach, plum, and nectarine harvest is moving right along in our orchards, with flavor continuing to impress across our early season varieties. Plumsicle™ harvest has begun! As expected, the crop is sweet and flavorful. Plumsicle is available only in limited supplies this year, but we continue to add more acreage to our Plumsicle orchards each…
Harvest season is finally here! Peach and nectarine harvest is underway as stone fruit continues to mature and grow in our orchards. Pictured below is our Sangria plum, which will begin harvest at the end of May. Thinning has now wrapped up in our stone fruit orchards. The warm and sunny spring we’re having is perfect for growing great tasting fruit with high sugar content. We have seen excellent eating quality right out of the gate. So far fruit looks and tastes as good or better than last year’s vintage crop, and we hope that will continue for the whole…
