Market Minute: Continued heat speeding up melon growth and other crops

Currently, the weather is the biggest story. The hot, excess temperatures that spreads across the Southwest and Southeast is accelerating the fruit and vegetable growth. In some cases, the extreme heat could possibly stress and even harm some of the crops.

Some items will be a bit tight due to the big draw period as we head into the Independence Day holiday. However, there is always a suitable supply of product for everyone to sell, especially for those who planned orders and transportation early.

Since melons love heat, let's look at the markets. The "Big Three", watermelons, cantaloupes and honeydews love hot weather. The high temperatures are bringing on the melons faster. Cantaloupes out of California are seeing very good demand with a higher market and honeydews also show a good demand on a slightly higher market.

California watermelons are about steady and the demand is good. Georgia watermelon supply is light, demand good and the market is steady. The market is about steady out of Texas as well with good holiday demand.

Melons generate high volume sales, especially in the summer and for the Fourth of July holiday. A small display won't do the job. Plan to go all out by setting up some bins of the "Big Three" melons. Make sure to place a 50 percent false bottom in the bins to prevent any damage from weight and to control shrink.