California floods screwing up my produce

[gfweb]

Arugula is not to be found. Cauliflower is $3.99 for a browned/bruised head. Oy.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

Europe just went through something similar with most of Spain's harvest of pretty much everything being lost. This particularly ruffled English feather's as they couldn't get courgettes/zucchini leading to near riots in supermarkets. Because there are no other vegetables grown locally.
Of course, nothing to do with global warming because that doesn't exist.

[Shelby]

Is that why good leaf lettuce is non-existant right now around here?

[KennethT]

This is part of my fascination with controlled environment agriculture. Yes, it's bound to be more expensive than farming on inexpensive land in more remote areas, but I can grow much more per square foot - maybe 5-6x the yield per square foot, and use about 1/10th of the water doing it as it as all recycled.  Also, I don't need to use chemical pesticides - whatever small amount of pests I may get I can handle effectively using Integrated Pest Management - which is basically using predatory bugs to eat the bad ones.  My crops are also less affected by disease, and there is almost no risk of E. Coli poisoning or other diseases that hit the cilantro used by Chipotle, for instance, and got many people sick.  Also, I can have crops turning year round - I can have the full output when it's freezing cold or burning hot outside - neither affects me.  Finally, I can do it in urban areas close to (or surrounded by) my market, so transportation costs (and its effect on the environment) are essentially negligible.

 

It doesn't make sense to do this type of ag for field crops such as wheat or corn, but for higher value crops like arugula, herbs, tomatoes, etc. I think it is definitely feasible.

[Alex]

My local supermarket runs special produce sales on Wednesdays. This past week, there was going to be a 6-oz clamshell of raspberries for 99 cents, but they couldn't get a shipment at all. (Literal) rainchecks were issued.

[gfweb]

yup

cauliflower is $5 a head.

arugula is not available

[dcarch]

18 minutes ago, gfweb said:

yup

----

arugula is not available

 

Very easy to grow. My year round arugula supply, summer and winter.

 

dcarch

[ElsieD]

I saw cauliflower yesterday selling for $6.99 a head.  I did not buy one.

[Toliver]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I saw cauliflower yesterday selling for $6.99 a head.  I did not buy one.

I'm not trying to be an asshat  but I received my local grocery ads yesterday and my local Albertson's has organic cauliflower at $1.69US/lb.

I don't blame you for passing your cauliflower by...

 

[ElsieD]

58 minutes ago, Toliver said:

I'm not trying to be an asshat  but I received my local grocery ads yesterday and my local Albertson's has organic cauliflower at $1.69US/lb.

I don't blame you for passing your cauliflower by...

 

 

$1.69 US/lb, huh?  Next time I'm there I'll weigh one.  These were a reasonable size, but still......$7 a head?

[Anna N]

Today the bags of three romaine hearts which usually sell for around 3.99 were 6.99 and the broccoli was $3.29 for two very small heads.  We are talking ordinary supermarket produce here, not organic or anything else, and not from Whole Foods.  Both of these produce items were on my shopping list; neither one of them ended up in my cart. 

Edited April 19, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[Porthos]

Part of this has to be, "location, location, location." I am in the (very) greater Los Angeles area and I had no clue that produce elsewhere was unavailable or way more expensive than typical.  For my daughter's ren faire kitchen I buy a variety of fresh veggies and fruits as listed below and hadn't seen any real price differences. I feel for you but can offer no help.

 

A typical weekend includes:

 

Carrots

Celery

Onions

Potatoes

Edemame

Cucumbers

Jicama (of which I will never understand the appeal thereof)

Zucchini

Broccoli

Green Beans (frozen)

Asparagus

Brussels Sprouts

Mushrooms

Oranges

Pineapples

Strawberries

Grapes

Watermelon

 

For my Canadian friends I have a sourcing question. We get a lot of produce from Mexico and Chile as well as what is grown here. Do you get produce from Mexico or Chile?

 

 

[Anna N]

Yes. We get produce from Chile, Mexico, USA  and I'm sure for some things other  South American countries. Not much grows here in Ontario this early in the year.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I was back at the Harris Teeter in Cary today looking for romaine again. They had three tiny hearts in a bag for $4.59. They had a few heads of something they called "red romaine". It was like a cross between red leaf and romaine, with thin leaves instead of the thick crunchy leaves of green romaine. Those were $2.99 and they were small and looked tired. They had plenty of iceberg, but it wasn't what I was after, and I forgot to check the price. I settled for spinach again.

 

That romaine and feta salad I've been craving sure is going to taste good when I get my hands on some good romaine. I'm fantasizing about rolling up some good feta in the whole leaves and eating them like burritos.

 

I did score some sort of brown-toned red heirloom tomatoes for $4.99 a pound, though. They're from Mexico. Hopefully they will have some flavor.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I did score some sort of brown-toned red heirloom tomatoes for $4.99 a pound, though. They're from Mexico. Hopefully they will have some flavor.

 

Are they Sunset brand?  If so I find them quite acceptable.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

14 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Are they Sunset brand?  If so I find them quite acceptable.

 

 

redsun.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

redsun.

 

Don't know that one here.  Sounds good.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

49 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Don't know that one here.  Sounds good.

 

 

I'll report back, probably tomorrow.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Well, the redsun "heirloom" tomato that I ate half of yesterday on top of a cold spinach salad was only okay. After I tossed the spinach and thin sliced onion with a light vinaigrette, I put the tomato wedges from half of the tomato on top and sprinkled a chopped boiled egg on top. Sad news. There was no great sun-ripened garden tomato flavor. It wasn't horrible or worthy of the name styromate. It was quite juicy, but the skin was unusually tough, and the great garden tomato flavor just wasn't there. I ate the other half like an apple tonight with a little kosher salt, and confirmed. This is not a crave-worthy tomato. The juice did run and drip quite uncontrollably, but without the flavor I'm after, who cares?

 

The brown tomatoes that are occasionally available at Trader Joe's are smaller but better. Can't always find them, though. Campari tomatoes are elusive around here, but they always deliver flavor, if you can get your hands on them. The most reliable source of good winter tomato flavor is redsun Scarlet Pearl grape tomatoes around here. Those come from Canadian hothouses, of all places.

 

I have another "heirloom" tomato to eat, and it's more shaped like one, with a sort of rectangular profile with the pleats that come down from the stem attachment. The one I ate was more round, no pleats, but I really don't expect better tomato flavor from it. I'm not throwing it out though.

 

I'll have to go to the Food Lion within the next week, and I'll be looking for (you guessed it) Romaine lettuce. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I also am fond of Campari.  They are similar to the Mountain Magic that I grow in summer.  Of late I've become delighted with Sunset Kumato.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I also am fond of Campari.  They are similar to the Mountain Magic that I grow in summer.  Of late I've become delighted with Sunset Kumato.

 

 

I think that is what the small brown Tomatoes one can sometimes find at TJ's: Kumato, although I don't remember them being branded as Sunset. Your photos of brown-toned red tomatoes led me to buy my disappointing ones, but it was worth a shot. At this time of year, when you have a major jones on for good tomatoes, it's sometimes worth it to go out on a limb, and sometimes not so much. It won't be long until my little seafood outlet down the street has garden tomatoes for sale. They are really so good, as is a lot of other stuff I can pick up at the same time.

 

I may even make an effort to break out of my shell and ask where they are grown, but without asking, I know they are grown in a garden somewhere near here.

[ElsieD]

The cauliflower weighed 2 1/4 pounds and the price had dropped from $7 to $6 a head.  That makes it $2.66 a pound ot $1.97US.

[heidih]

I think it is all bout distribution & volume. Here in So California produce is dirt cheap if you look around. At Asian markets where folks buy A LOT they are practically giving away greenery. 

[suzilightning]

Interesting ...

here in NW NJ last Tuesday I noticed there was no iceberg lettuce available in either of the markets I go to and only yucky(brownish/slimy) leaf lettuce, the two main kinds I use.  Did not see Boston at all and the Romaine heads were a 3 pack of Andy Boy for almost $7.00.  We are not quite into good lettuce time here - maybe about 3 weeks away - so I took some heartier  greens and didn't do lettuce salads or anything on sandwiches this week.

 

Even the two Asian/Spanish markets and very little green produce....didn't notice cauliflower at all and green beans were 1.69 per pound.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I scored a very decent head of Romaine lettuce on Thursday at Food Lion for $2.99. They also had iceberg at $1.99. I also scored Campari tomatoes in a one pound clamshell for $2.99 (these are SUNSET brand from Mexico), and Athenos feta cheese. I can't wait!

 

Today (Friday) I was at Harris Teeter and picked up a head of iceberg in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo. It was supposed to be only 99 cents, but the cashier rang it up as cauliflower at $4.49. I didn't catch it until I'd paid and she handed me the receipt, but I knew something was wrong, so I stood at the foot of the checkout counter going over the receipt while the next customer's purchases were tallied. I pointed out the error to the cashier, and she told me to go to the customer service desk (where no one was staffing it at the time).  This is very customer unfriendly, but it was only a couple of minutes before the long-haired, bearded young man who had greeted me as I came into the store showed up and gave me credit for the cauliflower. It turns out their policy is that if you are overcharged, your item is free. So my Cinco de Mayo shredded lettuce garnish is gratis.