About 14 years ago, Oxnard, CA-based Eclipse Berry Farms LLC, secured a deal with a Florida tomato grower and became one of the first shippers in the country to sell grape tomatoes.

“We were the first company to market grape tomatoes in North America and had an exclusive for three years,” said Stuart Gilfenbain, who handles sales (along with Rick Hearst) for the family-owned company started by his father, Norman Gilfenbain. “It was a special seed brought in from Taiwan.”

Stephanie Hilton, spokesperson for Watsonville, CA-based Santa Cruz Berry Farming Co. LLC., said that heading into fall the company will be offering both conventional and organic strawberries and blackberries.

“These are being produced in California,” said Ms. Hilton. “Santa Cruz Berry Farming can supply berries all year long, and blackberries are available August through December. We expect strong supplies throughout the fall.”

Sweet Darling Sales Inc., in Watsonville, CA, harvests strawberries from early April until early November. Matt Biscotti, sales representative for the company, said the company’s crop is produced and harvested primarily in the Watsonville District.

“We continue to promote all of our berry categories throughout the fall,” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, headquartered in Watsonville, CA. “Strawberries from California are plentiful all the way into the winter months from the central coast in Watsonville/Salinas and Santa Maria. We also have fresh blueberries from British Columbia, Canada, and will also be transitioning into South America in the fall. Blackberries will also transition at that time from California to Mexico production, which will carry us through the winter.”

Low-priced Chinese garlic has sold at depressed prices on the U.S. market for most of the last several years, according to John Layous, a partner in The Garlic Co. in Bakersfield, CA. “In the last seven or eight years, we have only had one year, which was two years ago,” that Chinese garlic commanded high prices, he said. With that exception, there have been “six or seven years of very depressed markets for Chinese garlic.”

That, of course, affects the market for California garlic.

But Mr. Layous has some optimism for the 2012 season.

COALINGA, CA — Double D Farms, which is headquartered in Fresno, CA, but has farming, packing and cooling operations here, is involved in the production of several commodities, one of which is garlic. In the garlic category, “we specialize in organic garlic,” said Gurdeep Billan, director of sales.

The garlic is not packed on premise but nearby at the Harris Fresh facility,” he said.

The company’s 2012 harvest was already completed when The Produce News visited the facility July 20.