Can you believe we are already more than halfway through the year…
- I know some people struggle through the second half of winter as we wait for sunnier days but rest assured, they are not that far away. The cold weather is a necessity if we want to have good apple, pear and stone fruit crops as these fruit trees need a certain amount of very cold days to ensure good flower and fruit set in the spring. So, embrace the cold and think of summer fruits.
- A few really great things happen this time of year.
- Aussie Blood Oranges, Dekopon (Sumo) Mandarins, Cara Cara Navels and ….drum roll please.. Yes, Seville Oranges have started. Seville oranges are in short supply and expensive this season with market price up about $20 on last year, but I recommend not waiting and hoping for a price drop as the crop is so small you might miss out. Home made Marmalade makes the perfect Christmas gift for friends and family so maybe its time to start thinking about Christmas too. (It’s only 155 days away after all).
- Vegetable lines are looking good and apart from a jump in broccoli price for about two weeks everything else is in pretty good supply. Broccoli too, has returned to regular supply pricing. Flat mushrooms have been an ongoing special at Watts Fresh with great supply and a retail price of just $6.95kg. We have been adding baby bok choy and baby choy sum to our offering also to broaden the Asian veg available.
- We have also had our first lot of Aussie R2E2 Mangoes in for the season; they have started about a month earlier than normal so it’s shaping up to be a good season. Mandarins are still plentiful with Daisy, Imperial, Red Imperial, Empress, Honey Murcot, Dekopon and Freemont all available at the moment. Queensland strawberries are starting to flow into the market in bigger numbers but I expect the price to remain a little higher than previous years as all of the input costs for the crop have increased as has the fuel cost for transport from Queensland. Raspberries and blueberries have been fairly consistent in supply but blackberries have become quite scarce.
- On the flower front we are seeing Aussie roses being scarce with imports dominating the market at the moment. Daffodils, Erlicheer, lemon pearl and Jonquils from Ellinbank have started and tease us that spring has almost sprung…. Just not quite here yet in the Macedon Ranges.
- Hope to see you in store soon to check out the best the market has to offer.
- As always we will work closely with our growers and team to deliver great food as affordably as possible and we thank all of our customers for their amazing ongoing support, without you we don't exist.
- Cheers, Dean
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