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NEW!
• Earl’s Exclusive Coastal View Produce California Asparagus ( early this week)
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Promotable Volume
• Mexican Asparagus
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COMING SOON
• California Snap Peas
• Import Abate Fetel & Red Bartlett
• Compostable Herb Packaging -
BACK IN STOCK
• Mini Watermelons (mid-week)
• Red Seedless Grapes -
TIGHT INVENTORY
• Green Beans
• Baby Broccoli
• Butternut
• Sunrise Carrots
• Organicgirl Butter Lettuce
• Bunched Spinach
• Cluster Tomatoes -
GAPPING
• Tasteful Selections Potatoes
• Fingerlings -
WINDING DOWN
• Mandarins
• Mexican Blueberries -
FINISHED
• Ambrosia Club Apple
• SugarBee Club Apple
• California Green-skinned Avocados
BUYER’S NOTES
Updated March 19, 2023
FRUIT
FRUIT update
Citrus season is beginning to wind down, but Navels are expected to run through April. Otherwise, we are moving along: Club Apples are winding down, last week saw our first Import Pears, and Berries have great flavor & steady supply for this time of year.
Forbidden Blueberries are showing better production cycles, which will help cover our needs as we wait for other California-grown blueberries to start from Homegrown and other growers.
Our team visited Coliman last week, our partner for Organic & Fair Trade Bananas. Stay tuned for updates!
Earl’s Visit to Coliman Organic Fair Trade Farm
in Mexico
In Winter Banana Hands size up smaller.
Apples
Ambrosia & SugarBee Club Apples are done for the season. Cosmic Crisp Club Apple has been wildly popular and at a great price – a fantastic apple!
We’re bringing in various Honeycrisp sizes and grades to fill our full supply needs, but plenty of domestic supply on Gala and Fuji, which are usually the first imports.
Avocados
As we near the end of Mexican Avocado, mature fruit has a high oil content and eats differently. Pro Tip: Eat when the fruit gives slightly to pressure.
California Hass most likely to start by the end of March.
Bananas
Earl’s team visited Covilli Organic Fair Trade Farms in Mexico last week. Don’t miss photo highlights above and weekly fun facts about bananas, fair trade, photos, videos and more!
Banana bunches are washed as they come in on cables straight from the farm.
Berries
Blackberries: Happy with quality on the Greenbelle, let us know what you’re seeing out there on other labels.
Blueberries: Seeing more consistent production cycles from Forbidden. The Mexican blueberry supply is starting to dwindle – we may see a gap before the California production ramps up. Growers report full sets but need heat to color up and become shippable.
Strawberries: Baja is doing well in contrast to the weather up here in California. Ichiban & Greenbelle at a good price and high quality at this time of year.
Raspberries: Solid fruit from Fresh Kampo, some GreenBelle to fill in.
Citrus
Citrus season is beginning to wind down, but Navels are expected to run through April.
grapes
Peruvian Grapes from Awesum are high quality – surprisingly crisp and flavorful. “Catch as catch can” – Awesum will be winding down soon, look for other labels.
One banana is cut from the bunch to test for maturity and core development.
kiwi
From Italy and Greece, New Zealand will come on in the spring. California on its heels.
Melons
After a gap last week, expect product mid-late this week. Divine expected to start with Cantaloupe, Honeydew, and Mini Watermelons in mid-April. Bins likely available by early May.
pears
Import Bartletts have been a hit! Domestic Pears are starting to wind down. Looking forward to Import Abate Fetel and Red Bartletts.
tropicals
Thai Coconuts return Monday.
Ataulfo Mangos (Mexico) are smooth and buttery and taste even better when they start to wrinkle. Look to small sizes for a value buy. Round Tommy Atkins have a beautiful blush. Download POS and educator posters.
VEGETABLES
veg update
Things are happening, but they’re happening slowly with all of this cold weather. Things should start to warm up this week, which means better supply but potential for more aphids on Lettuces and Chicories. Lakeside has no definitive start date to transition back North from desert, but Cal-O is expecting a smooth transition to Bakersfield/Lamont as soon as next week. With all of the rain and flooding, expect a bumpy supply on many commodities – from Salad Kits to Carrots to Celery. Tomatero has lots of product in the fields and is expecting greater veg availability as soon as we hit some warmer weather!
In brighter news, get ready for California-grown Coastal View Produce Asparagus expected early this week! A sure sign that spring is coming.
all pictured produce below on earl’s weekly specials!
Mexican Asparagus
Asparagus
Mexican market moving quickly – prices continue to drop. More standard available than large. Coastal View Produce domestic Asparagus anticipated this week, fingers crossed!
Artichokes
Good supply on 12ct/18ct.
green beans
Covilli coming into better supply as we get closer to Easter. Not enough supply out there to fill our needs but we’re on the lookout.
Broccoli
Steady supply.
sweet baby broccoli
Limited supply and ability to harvest due to the wet and cold in Watsonville/Salinas. With Josie’s processing facility closed and too much rain to get into the fields, expect tight numbers.
Brussels Sprouts
Broccoli crowns
As the desert season ends, we will likely hit some scarcity before Watsonville growing season begins and higher prices.
brussels sprouts
Covilli availability beginning to wane but expecting solid supply for another few weeks. Purple Brussels Sprouts may last into early May.
Carrots
Harvest delays from Sunrise due to rain – anecdotally it took an hour to harvest a single box of carrots last week. Hoping for clear skies and ability to harvest at a rate that makes sense for them. Purple and Yellow tight as well as Nantes. Leaning on Capay Nantes in the meantime.
cauliflower
Saw quality issues as well as high pricing the past few weeks. Warmer weather coming up in the desert means things are looking up!
Crimini Mushrooms
romanesco
Organic Treat winding down for the desert season – likely to see a gap until Watsonville growers have supply.
celery
No news is good news for now! We can expect scarcity in April and May – the last crop to transition out of the desert.
cucumbers
Pricing has come down quite a bit and should stay down for the week. Steady supply out of Mexico, plenty of Persian Cukes.
chicories
We’ve encountered aphids in Frisée and Escarole on some lands – keeping it tight with our eyes peeled. We expect more aphids to appear as the weather warms up.
eggplant
Plenty available.
fennel
Market is tightening up as the desert season ends.
ginger
Del Cabo Ginger clams unavailable for about a week.
greens
Expected gaps in chard supply from Capay. Sun Valley and Tomatero still light on Greens with the Watsonville/Salinas weather, Southern California providing the lion’s share of our supply.
herbs
Compostable packaging beginning soon with Bay Area! Alternative to plastic will see a small price increase – worth it!
lettuce
Josie’s Salad Kits will likely gap this week – their facility is under evacuation due to flooding.
Expect good harvest numbers on lettuce with the incoming warm weather – though we may start to see aphids. Sharp pricing through the end of March. Last of the Organic Treat Romaine in last week, Cal-O will be main supplier.
mushrooms
Lower numbers on Oysters and Lion’s Mane due to cold weather and slower growing cycles. Look for California-grown Monterey Mushroom Crimini Mushrooms on special for the next week!
onions
Spring Onion supply from Terra Firma pushed back into April
Green Onions from Cal-O looking to be back in great shape. Not expecting any more prorates for a few months.
Shallots around for another 3-4 weeks. Onions looking in good supply and we may not need to bring in Mexican crop this year – transition to new crop will happen in May.
peas
A&A has quite a bit available still, as we wait for California to start.
bell peppers
Colored Bells are currently hit or miss. Green Bells are tough to find, but should be back into decent supply this week.
hot peppers
Surprise Cherry Bomb Peppers from Covilli in random shipments, depending on labor, and Habaneros from SunFed!
potatoes
End of storage crop, new crop expected late May. Fingerlings gapping for a few months.
bunched spinach
A bit of a question mark as most of our partners have run out of supply. Stay tuned.
summer squash
Zucchini prices starting to rise from Divine.
tomatoes/tomatillos
Sporadic Tomatillos available. Heirlooms all but unavailable from Covilli right now due to cool weather – we are looking for more labels to help fill our needs. Wholesum Tomatoes kept tight to ensure freshest quality.
winter squash
Supply beginning to dwindle on Kabocha Squash – we may see a gap this year before California starts. Supply on Delicata and Butternut a bit tight.
Overall, Tender Leaf and True Heart items are plentiful. Limitations continue with Arugula meeting our premium spec, primarily due to mildew. Mizuna is continually being sourced to help assist with gaps. Transition is almost upon us, and daily quality challenges will be present. As always, we will rely on our diversification to maximize availability as best as possible. We will continue to monitor raw product on a weekly basis.
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