BUYER’S NOTES
Updated June 5, 2022
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NEW!
• Dwelley Blenheim Apricots
• New Crop California Russets
• Dazzle Club Apple (New Zealand)
• Dwelley Green Beans, Romano and Yellow Wax Beans
• Sunrise Red Speckled Romaine -
COMING SOON
• Peterson Family Farm Regenerative Organic Certified Stone Fruit (learn more below)
• Rambutan 2nd week of June
• Colored Cauliflower
• Cherries - Pacific Northwest
• New Crop California Garlic by June 10th -
BACK IN STOCK
• Calo Jumbo Carrots
• Thai Coconuts
• Bagged Fingerlings
• Jumbo Carrots
• Formosa and Intennza Papayas
• Plums/Pluots this week
• Yellow Dragon Fruit -
TIGHT INVENTORY
• Avocados (larger sizes 40/48)
• Colored Bells
• Celery Hearts
• Hot Peppers
• Sweet Potatoes
• Butternut Squash -
GAPPING
• Calo Shredded Carrots
• Rutabaga
• Shallots
• Sunchokes -
WINDING DOWN
• Covilli
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FINISHED
• Domestic Granny Smith Apples
• Forbidden Blueberries
• Anna’s Organic and Sun Valley Baby Bok Choy
• California Cherries
FRUIT
California Stone Fruit season is peaking! Heirloom Blenheim Apricots from Dwelley have a sweet rich flavor, low acid and a smooth texture. One of the key characteristics of the Blenheim is their green shoulders. Don’t shy away from the green tinge, as the fruit will have good flavor even if the fruit does not achieve full color. Season is a short 2-3 weeks. Don’t miss this seasonal favorite for eating out of hand and making jam! Learn more in our Vegucation blog. Peterson Family Fruit is the first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) stone fruit farm in the nation. The Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) is an add-on certification to USDA organic that has additional requirements for soil health, animal welfare and social fairness. We will see the first of their stone fruit arriving this week. Be one of the first retailers to offer Peterson Family Fruit. Speak with your Earl’s Sales Rep for more information. Earl’s sells stone fruit by the variety. Download Earl’s Stone Fruit Harvest Calendars and follow the flavor. California Melon season is picking up with new varieties- Galia and Hami to add to delicious Cantaloupe and Honeydew. Mini Seedless cases and bins have good flavor out of Mexico.
APPLES
Sliding more into imports. Jazz and Envy Club Apples coming out of New Zealand soon. Domestic Granny Smiths are done and will be seasonally tight. We will see some imports, however we will not have a consistent line on Grannys until the domestic season starts up again in the fall.
AVOCADOS
We may see a gap on Rincon for about 2 weeks while they wait for fruit to size up. Look for a smooth transition to fruit from Eco Farm.
BANANAS
June-September is the wet season in Colima, Mexico and we are keeping a close eye on quality.
BERRIES
Blackberries: Plenty of fruit out of Mexico.
Blueberries: Forbidden Fruit Blueberries are done for now. California Homegrown season may end early. Colder nights combined with a heat wave made for a short California season this year. We may see a gap before Oregon starts up later this month.
Strawberries: California fruit is coming on strong with Tomatero and Sun Valley the stars this week. Tomatero 2# clamshells offer your customer more fruit with less plastic.
Raspberries: Sun Valley California Raspberries have outstanding flavor. GreenBelle out of Mexico returns this week with good volume at a great price.
CITRUS
Grapefruit: Hyde Oroblanco has great flavor in a variety of sizes. Hyde is still a few months away from Star Rubys. Plenty of Star Ruby from Rainbow Valley. Marsalisi Meyer Lemons in good supply. Valencias transitioned seamlessly from Mexico to California from RVO and Fruitworld.
GRAPES
California Grapes are slowly getting started with seedless Red Flames and Green Sugarones from Anthony Vineyards. We will see some Black Seedless Roy Grapes from Divine out of Mexico to round out the color spectrum.
KIWI
New Zealand Kiwis have outstanding flavor. Don’t miss the Gold Kiwis - deliciously sweet without the acidity found in a green kiwi, the Gold Kiwis have 3x the vitamin C of an orange!
MELONS
Lots of choices on California grown melons - Cantaloupes, Honeydew, Galia, and Hami. California Mini Seedless starting in 2 weeks.
PEARS
Good variety of import pears - Autumn Bartlett, D’Anjou, Red D’Anjou and Golden Bosc.
STONE FRUIT
California Cherries are finished. Pacific Northwest starting soon. Peterson Family Fruit is the first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) stone fruit farm in the nation. We will see the first of their stone fruit arriving this week. Be one of the first retailers to offer Peterson Family Fruit. Speak with your Earl’s Sales Rep for more information and learn more in our Vegucation blog.
stone fruit, continued
Apricots: Blenheims (don’t miss our Vegucation blog)
Yellow Nectarines: Diamond Bright, Dulce Vida, Honey Lite
White Nectarines: Diamond Pearl
Yellow Peaches: Crimson Lady, Spring Flame
White Peaches: Ivory Princess, Snow Fox
Pluots and Plums returning this week.
TROPICALS
Crespo Mangos are transitioning growing regions from Michoacán to Sinaloa and Nayarit. Ataulfos, Tommy Aktins and Kents all have excellent flavor. Summer Mango Mania is just weeks away. Ask your Earl’s Sales Rep for more information. Thai Mangos are back in better supply this week. Formosa and Intennza Papayas are delicious! Did you know Papayas contain Papain, an enzyme that aids in digestion?
VEGETABLES
Local Greens are looking really sharp with healthy, crisp leaves! Promotable volume from Sun Valley, Tomatero and more. Dwelley (Brentwood) has started up with their beloved Green Beans, Yellow Wax and Romano Beans. Now is the perfect time for a summer bean salad. Peas love the cooler weather. Stock up on Snap Peas before the weather heats up too much - Sweet English Peas, Snow Peas and Sugar Snaps! Tomatero coming into a wonderful bounty of fragrant Bunched Basil and Zucchini. Summer screams pesto time! Comanche Creek Mixed Squash has something for everyone. Coastal View Produce Asparagus continues through July 4th holiday. Download the CVP POS card on our marketing resource page.
ASPARAGUS
Production cycles are strong. Look for “smalls” for a value option.
ARTICHOKES
Decent quality from JAS.
Baby bok choy
Anna’s and Sun Valley are done. Shifting to Lakeside.
beets
Sun Valley has a solid program and quality across the board. Terra Firma is back with loose gold beets.
beans
NEW Dwelley Green Beans, romano and Yellow Wax Beans. Rico Farms (Mexico) 28# are a good value option.
BROCCOLI
Tomatero in really good volume on baby sweet broccoli with fantastic quality. Sun Valley coming on with bunched and crowns.
brussels sprouts
Vegland starting slowly with 8x1# net bags.
carrots
Sunrise Nantes are gorgeous; however their Bunched Rainbow Carrots are very limited. Lakeside will be the main label. Calo is back into full production on carrots and Jumbo Carrots are back!
cauliflower
We hope to see Colored Cauliflower in the couple of weeks. Tomatero Romanesco is vibrant!
celery
A bit of a limited market. Josie’s is still challenged harvesting out of Santa Maria/Oxnard with some quality issues. They plan on being in full swing in Salinas in a few weeks.
Corn
Sweet California Corn from Calo is transitioning from the desert to Lamont with good volume.
Cucumbers
Persian bags and bulk continue to be limited. Don’t miss Pickling Cucumbers and Painted Serpent Cucumbers from Comanche Creek. The Painted Serpent Cucumber is also known as Armenian Cucumber. It is fantastic in salads and stir fries and has a mild flavor with no bitterness. They naturally grow into an “S” shape with alternate light and dark green stripes.
eggplant
Globe Eggplant remains tight. Graffiti is gaping.
ginger
Keep Ginger tight – at the end of the season, the quality can spoil quickly. We’re keeping our eyes on the product daily but be prepared to see minor mold on the tips. Let your sales rep know of any significant spoilage.
greens
Sun Valley and Tomatero are carrying the lion’s share across the entire class. Look for some smaller growers to supplement and increase variety at the retail level.
herbs
Parsley from Calo and Sunrise. Bunched Dill from Sunrise has been beautiful!
lettuce
Sun Valley is experimenting with iceberg and other beautiful leaf lettuces as well. Red Speckled Romaine from Sunrise is back.
leeks
Beautiful white shanks from Tomatero.
onions
New crop California landing and quality/sizing improving. Terra Firma Cured Yellow and Red Onions coming soon.
BELL PEPPERS
Colored Bells are improving a bit with product out of Canada and Mexico.
HOT PEPPERS
Will bring in what we can but product remains limited.
potatoes
Fingerlings trickling in over the next few weeks -12/1.5# bags. Bulk fingerlings back mid-June. Fresh crop Russets are here. Gold and Red Potatoes are back.
peas
Tutti Snaps, Snow, and English peas!
radish
Black Spanish, Easter Egg, French Breakfast, Red and Watermelon are firm and crunchy!
rhubarb
Grown in the Pacific Northwest, this tart vegetable is wonderful baked in pies, or cooked down into a compote. Blend the compote with yogurt and ice for a delicious smoothie.
summer squash
California Zucchini supply coming on strong with Tomatero. Yellow Squash is tight. Comanche Creek’s mixed varietal summer squash is beautiful! Stay tuned for a squash guide.
Sweet potatoes
Keeping it tight, end of season supply – remember these were harvested in the end of 2021!
tomatoes
Wilgenburg is in full swing. Tutti Heirlooms are hopeful for early June. Earl Girl and Cherry Tomatoes from Comanche Creek in June!
winter squash
Butternut is tight. Rico XL Butternut is a good value option. Covilli is wrapping up Honeynut and Kabocha in the next week or so.
ORGANIC GIRL UPDATE
Weather is continuing to warm up however, we are seeing high winds. Tenderleaf items are covered throughout next week, and supplies are in great shape. We have a steady supply of Romaine and quality is improving. As for Butter, Butter Plus and Little Gems, quality has improved,
however we are seeing aphids and wind burn. Nevertheless we expect high fill rates.
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VEGUCATION CORNER
