You have to do a double take at a calendar to actually believe it is October! In the stores, you are already seeing Halloween items, and before you know it, there will be Thanksgiving items, and, yes, Christmas.
Sales continue slow for most vegetable and fruit items, and will continue that way until the East coast starts getting cold, and the local deals wrap up. That could be another 2-3 weeks. It is starting to get cold and wet in the growing areas of Maine and Canada, so it could be soon. As far as harvesting in Salinas, we will continue loading here through the end of October, then start drifting to Huron for lettuce, Oxnard for celery, and gradually work our way to the desert for the Winter.
Trucks are readily available for all areas of the country, particularly in the East.
Long range weather in the growing areas of Salinas show cooler, more seasonable Fall temperatures, as does the growing area around Fresno, where the tree fruit, melons, and grapes are coming from. No rain.

LETTUCE–market still flat for head lettuce. Supplies continue plentiful in Salinas and Santa Maria areas, and should for the next 3 weeks, or so, then we will move to Huron for the Fall deal.

BROCCOLI–better demand and stronger market for all bunch, and even stronger for crowns. This could be a combination of lighter supplies out West, as the Eastern deal winding down. Maine and New York expect to keep going for another 2 weeks, or so. When demand DOES pick up, hopefully the volume will too.

CAULIFLOWER–market starting to make a move. With cooler weather this week, supplies will probably tighten up, and the shippers will continue to raise their prices. But, as they usually do, they will push their prices too high, and kill the market. We recommend you order heavy early this week, with the expected bump in the market.

LEAF ITEMS–overall flat market for red, green, and romaine. We are seeing a fairly wide range in all leaf items, at least the “board” prices. In other words, shippers are selling lower than what they are “quoting”. It is worth it to shop around.

CELERY–not much change. We are still seeing a fairly wide range in price on all size celery, depending mostly upon the shipper, with as much as a $5.00/box SPREAD in price. There certainly are deals out there, so, again, shop around.

STRAWBERRIES–no change here. Driscoll leads the way, and continue to pro rate 50-75%, and charge $3-5.00/box MORE than the mostly market, while other shippers, even though they have good business, can’t seem to get their fruit to deliver to the East coast. We will continue to ship out of Salinas/Watsonville areas for the next 3 weeks, then gradually move to Oxnard. This is ALL depending upon the weather.