The Spring Transition

In the fruit world, spring is the hardest time of year. Summer brings its abundance of stone fruits, Fall its apples, pears, persimmons, and pomegranates, and Winter all varieties of citrus that grow under the sun, but springtime . . . well, that’s another story. In California, we really only see two fresh crops in the spring: strawberries and a very small amount of early blueberries. Strawberries are tasty and tender but their fragile nature makes them highly susceptible to damage from the weather. A damp strawberry is not one that can be picked and delivered – it will go bad too quickly. Heavy rains can damage the berry while it’s still on the plant making it crack or split. And the organic strawberries from smaller farms are especially vulnerable. When it rains, strawberry farmers have to delay their harvest until the plants dry. The welcome rain over the last few weeks has been great for easing the drought but made berry picking less consistent than we would like. Hopefully, we’ll see some sun soon and you’ll see those sweet, red Vitamin C-packed berries along with it.

Because Spring is such a tough time of year for domestic fruit, I want to note that we do find alternative non-U.S. sources for fruit when needed so that we can continue to offer a good variety in your crate. You may see some foreign-grown fruit during the lean weeks, including plums, grapes, and mangoes from Chile or Mexico, while those receiving the Organic mix will see a mostly U.S. product. I always recommend that you take a look at our “In the Mix” section (click on the ladybug icon at www.fruitguys.com and then click on your mix by region) so that you can see what’s in your crate and where it was grown. If you would like only U.S.-grown fruit, please let us know and we’ll make sure to note this on your order. While our first priority is supporting local agriculture and our small farmers, Spring severely limits what is available at local farms so we try to supplement this brief local fruit drought to keep you happy until harvest time. Let’s hope the stone fruit trees are ready soon so we can see some early cherries and apricots!

Enjoy and be fruitful!

– Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com