Santa Maria: We continue to enjoy consistent weekly volume here along the coast in the Santa Maria region. We have several micro climates here and since our fields hug the coast, our weather conditions are very mild, even with temps warming up this month. We do expect a slight warm up this weekend into the high 70’s and then back down to the mid and low 70’s next week. Our night time temps are hovering in the mid and lower 50’s which helps to keep the plants cool at night and maintain that consistency with fruit ripening and daily harvest schedules.
The fruit has sized down a little, which is typical for this time of year, but the berries look great with good color, firmness and flavor. The plants are healthy and will continue to push out new fruit throughout the next several weeks. In the meantime, as we see our fall crop coming together, we will keep you informed on timing.
According to the Strawberry Commission report this week, shoppers are buying more strawberries than ever! On average strawberry shoppers bought 13 units of berries in 2022, which is over 4% more than 2020. It looks like strawberry purchases are on the rise each year as strawberries are clearly part of weekly shopping lists and continue to be a favorite fruit.
