<p>Homegrown Organic Farms has kicked off harvest on its 2014 blueberry crop. Projections show <b>volumes to be up slightly from last year.</b> So far, field reports have shown the <b>field-to-market farming techniques have paid off</b> and will continue to prove true this year. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Cherie France, Marketing Manager tells AndNowUKnow, “Quality is always our number one priority and this season is no exception. As one of the largest organic blueberry grower/packer/shippers, we are proud of the fact that we have complete control from the farm to the market place, and everything in between. Because of this, we’re able to maintain the attention to detail necessary to ensure the increasing expectation of consistent high quality organic berries.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/blueberries.jpg" alt="cropped_images_041614" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><b>Early season harvest has already begun</b> for Homegrown and is picking up pace in California. The company will continue with its California fruit through June at which point it will transition to Homegrown’s Oregon and Washington ranches for the rest of the summer season. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><b>On the stonefruit front, Homegrown’s California harvest, which started today as a whole, has been running about 10 days earlier than previous years,</b> given the dry weather and above average temperatures experienced over the past few months. The company is beginning with Super Lady yellow peaches with apricots slated for later next week.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/apricot.jpg" alt="cropped_images_041614" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>“This season we will be <b>introducing our new EcoPac label for our stonefruit and fall fruit items</b>. Our EcoPac brand was created to build up the emerging value-buy market and offer healthy organic fruit at a price everyone can afford. As always our customers can expect a steady supply of premium organic peaches, nectarines, plums, and pluots available from May through the middle of August,” France tells us.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/peaches.jpg" alt="cropped_images_041614" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>With that dry weather, the plants were given a long bloom period which in turn promotes more pick cycles per variety, France notes. Current Homegrown visits to the field show this year’s crop volume to be fairly normal. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Homegrown Organic Farms offers a full line of resources to help retailers merchandise and promote Homegrown products including grower photos and bios. Consumers love to know where their food is coming from and who their farmer is, so the company recently included a QR code on its packaging that links with grower stories. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>“This, along with many of our other resources help to bridge the gap between consumers and their growers and we love to help folks make that connection,” France states.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Looks to be a fruitful season for California blueberries and stonefruit.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.hgofarms.com/grow/organic-blueberries" target="_new">Homegrown Organic Farms Blueberries</a> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.hgofarms.com/grow/organic-stonefruit" target="_new">Homegrown Organic Farms Stonefruit</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
