Despite weather glitch in March, Oakes Farms’ Georgia crops are looking great
All of Oakes Farms’ Georgia crops are now enjoying great growing conditions and are looking good, despite a bit of a challenge getting out of the gate.
Steve Veneziano, vice president of Immokalee, FL-based Oakes Farms, explained that the company’s pepper varieties will run about a week later than normal.
“We held off planting when the weather forecast predicted a frost in mid-March,” explained Veneziano. “Temperatures dropped to as low as 26 degrees. We did have some plants in the ground which suffered some damage.”
As of mid-April, that event was far behind the company, and it was looking forward to catching up with an overall great Georgia crop.
“We’re excited for the continued growth with our co-partner Sam Watson at Chill C Farms this spring,” said Veneziano.
Oakes Farms began its partnership with Chill C Farms in Moultrie, GA, a year ago. This year-round supplier initially provided about 30 commodities, with plans to grow the line to about 60 items.
This spring, Oakes Farms announced its new partnership with Rentz Family Farms in Bainbridge, GA, to grow green squash, straightneck and crookneck yellow squash and Jalapeño peppers, which will be harvested from mid-May to mid-June.
Oakes Farms also added Covington variety sweet potatoes and Murasaki Japanese sweet potatoes to its premium Seed to Table lineup.
The partnership between Oakes Farms and M. D’Ottavio Produce continues to blossom. Veneziano said the companies’ diverse programs are shining.
Oakes Farms took occupancy of its new 16,519-square-foot refrigerated facility at the Immokalee State Farmers Market last September. The company now has six facilities in Immokalee, providing cold storage for over 300 trailer loads of product.
