The supply of hard squash out of Central California is steady and will likely wrap up at the end of the month. "Mexico will start production in that same window so we always overlap. Because of that, we've actually grown less in the fall than we used to. We're growing less than last year too," says Dennis Peterson of Riverbend Fresh LLC. "We could grow more if we had the support–we could grow and store until February or March. However we don't have the support so we don't have a lot here by design."
As the season winds down and finishes by the end of the month, growing conditions are varying between cooler temperatures and rain, and then more recently, warmer temperatures again.
© Riverbend Fresh
Squash varietal notes
In terms of varieties, the company is growing acorn, butternut, spaghetti, Kabocha and Delicata squash in California.
How about demand for squash? "The demand is normal, though there's no excess demand. If there is one box extra, there's nowhere to go with it because everybody's on contract," says Peterson.
All of this is leaving pricing on squash average. "I think we'll finish up with what we have here, which isn't a ton, with this pricing," he says, adding that pricing on squash from Mexico routinely comes in lower.
For more information:
Dennis Peterson
Riverbend Fresh LLC.
Tel: +1 (559) 846-3320
[email protected]
http://riverbendfresh.com
