The California table grape season is slowly coming to a close. We expect to wrap up our California season and transition into Peruvian fruit at the end of this month or first week of January. We will expand our offshore offerings to Chilean grapes as well in early to mid-January.
The recent cold weather has done a good job of starting the dormancy process on our trees and vines. This not only helps our plants receive their much-needed rest after a long season, but it allows our employees to make better pruning decisions. Without the leaves, the pruners can see the entire woody structure and adjust their cuts to leave the appropriate amount of fruiting wood for each tree or vine. We have begun calculating chill hours for our trees for the winter season and will continue to do so until bud break.
We are now pruning all commodities, tree fruit and table grapes. Pruning in the trees will finish before the end of the year. We expect to finish vineyard pruning around the end of January. The rain we have been anticipating may finally come to fruition this month.
It’s the season of giving, and once again HMC Farms employees have chosen to host a tree of hope for the Marjaree Mason Center, Fresno County’s only dedicated provider of domestic violence shelter and support programs. Members of the HMC team picked wish list items from the tree and purchased both Christmas gifts and everyday staples for the residents of Marjaree Mason Center.