CASTROVILLE, CA - During the Fresh Produce Floral Council’s Northern California Exposition, I had an opportunity to speak with Bob Polovneff, Senior Sales Manager for Ocean Mist Farms, to discuss market and crop conditions of Ocean Mist’s artichokes.

“Quality is excellent, and volumes are increasing," Bob says. "Demand is increasing as the quality of the artichokes improves. As we increase in volumes over the next three to six weeks, pricing will likely see a decrease in response."

He explained that the company’s operation out of Castroville, California, ships February through December. Coupled with winter production in Coachella, Oxnard, and Baja California, consumers have the opportunity to dig into this tasty thistle year-round.

“The fields have recovered from the frost conditions that delayed spring artichoke season," Bob comments. "So quality improvement, increased volumes, and increased demand are all related and reflection of that reality.”

Now, at the start of the season, most available artichokes are jumbo and large sizes, which sounds perfect to me—who doesn’t love a big heart?

To stay in the know on the crops across the market, keep reading AndNowUKnow.

Ocean Mist® Farms