Grower Alliance shipping watermelons year-round
Grower Alliance shipping watermelons year-round
Grower Alliance, LLC will at least double the volume of its organic vegetable deal this fall, according to Jorge Quintero, Jr., managing partner. The organic program “will be up and running in the first week of December,” with squash, Romas, eggplant, cucumbers and green beans leading the organic offerings.
Quintero added that all of Culiacan’s crops will be shipped in full volume this December. Green beans, colored bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, Euro-cucumbers, zucchini and yellow straight squash are among the largest Grower Alliance offerings this winter.
Grower Alliance ships watermelons all year. In early November, shipping from Hermosillo and Guaymas, Sonora, the firm was receiving eight to 10 watermelon loads a day. Culiacan melons were to start Dec. 1. “The markets have been good.”
Grower Alliances ships honeydew from October through June.
Rainfall in West Mexico this fall “created fewer problems than we anticipated,” said Quintero. Still facing a winter under the threat of El Nino weather patterns, Quintero said, “We expect a lot of weather but we’ll get through it.”
Hurricane Patricia in late October had no impact on Grower Alliance’s fields. The firm’s honeydew and watermelon plantings were too young to be impacted by heavy rain.