MR. GREENS "FRESH TIPS"
September 7, 2001
Our last PRODUCE MAN PUZZZZLE dealt with the Bible and fruit: What is the most talked about fruit…in the Bible? Probably the most talked about vegetable in the Bible is the onion. In fact, the Hebrew nation wanted to go back to Egypt for the "leeks and onions." The most talked about fruit appears in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis. Adam and Eve clothed themselves with the large leaves of a…Fig tree. Figs, the most talked about fruit in the Bible. This week's PUZZZZLE deals with Watercress: There are several thousands of acres in California growing lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, grapes and stonefruit, but how many acres of Watercress? See next week's "Fresh Tips" for the answer.
— WATCH THE WEATHER: Nine years ago, Florida growers were digging out from one of the worst hurricanes in history, Hurricane Andrew. Palm Beach County is the #1 agriculture-producing counties in the state. It missed most of the impact from Hurricane Andrew, but Dade County, #2 in agriculture production, was hard hit, destroying much of the 83,000 acres of farmland, including Lime trees, and most important, vegetable crops, including bell peppers, eggplant, green beans, cucumbers, cabbage, celery, corn, squash and tomatoes. Not only did high winds cause damage, but also "salt spray" from the storm, affected crops 3 - 4 miles inland. This time of year, hurricanes can greatly impact crops in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia. Also, hurricanes in the Pacific can cause trouble for winter vegetable growing regions in Mexico and Texas. From here through the end of October, watch the weather in agricultural regions around the U.S. and world. Mother Nature, more than anything else determines what we buy, its quality and how much we pay for it.
—LATE SEASON CROPS: Late in the summer, crops can become quite volatile in quality and pricing. You see, as the daytime gets shorter and nights get colder, vine crops will be greatly impacted. Less growing time during the day, combined with the longer and cooler nights, could cause more disease among the vines. Vine crops are melons, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. These crops could see some roller-coaster supplies and quality. Also, we are starting to get into the later varieties of Stonefruit. These late summer varieties tend to have lighter color and a lighter blush. It's a transition time for produce, so expect some problems.
—AVOCADOS:
California Hass Avocados have been hanging on the trees for about
44 weeks now. That simply means that oil content is certainly at its highest,
and that the fruit will ripen very fast. Because of the high oil content,
the fruit is also less susceptible to chill damage, which means you can
keep it a little longer than normal in refrigeration without them turning
black inside. We have noticed some "speckled" fruit being packed. This is
fruit that has already started breaking ripeness on the tree. From California,
there will be no #2 fruit available to help ease the pricing. All fruit
will be #1. Some early Chilean Hass Avocados have already started coming
in on boats, with heavier volumn expected by mid-to-late September. Vessels
should be arriving about every 10 days or so with fresh Avocados from Chile.
With California's crop about 80% finished, and prices starting to rise,
there shouldn't be any major supply gap between California and Chilean fruit.
Even though orchards in Chile are mature, early fruit still tends to have
less oil content and more water content. This will make these early Chilean
Hass Avocados more susceptible to chill damage and blackening of the fruit.