Product Code - 2716

Product Size - Each

The Wonning Melon Farm is located in the rich agricultural area of Vincennes, Indiana, an area known for its abundantly fertile and sandy soils.  It's these perfect growing conditions that make the Vincennes area famous for its melon production and no one grows better cantaloupes in the area than Wonning Melons Farms. 

Claiming to be the most delicious and aromatic of all melons, this small round tasty treat usually has a rough prominent surface. When ripe, the pale orange flesh is very juicy and deliciously sweet. It should yield slightly to finger pressure at its blossom end when ready to eat. This tasty and highly nutritious fruit is a perfect breakfast treat, sprinkle cubed melon with granola. Top with plain or vanilla yogurt. Use slices or chunks as edible garnish for most anything. Make melon balls; freeze; drop into iced beverages. Most often melons are chilled, but even though a cold melon is refreshing, some of the flavor will be lost. For a new flavor twist on salsa, about fifteen minutes before serving, add bite-size pieces of chilled melon. To store, keep unripe cantaloupes at room temperature. When ripe, refrigerate. Remove melon an hour before serving to bring out its best flavor.

Broccoli - Salinas and Santa Maria shippers have made the transition to their reduced summer broccoli acreage in anticipation of regional broccoli deals in the East. The near-term West Coast market will correspond directly to the heat wave currently on the East Coast. Persistent heat in Maine could damage the crop and send unexpected demand to the West Coast, which would trigger a rapid and sudden rise in the market. West Coast quality is excellent, and there remains a nice balance of bunch 14s and broccoli crowns.

Iceberg Lettuce  - Quality remains strong from California's Central Coast. A salesman for a large Salinas shippers recently stated, "For the past three weeks, we've been shipping the best quality since the season started in mid-April. Minor issues of mildew and sunburn cap leaves are easily dealt with in the field, resulting in good weight, color and solidity. We've had a steady diet of breezy, cool days in the 60s, which is ideal for lettuce quality." Shippers reduce their lettuce acreage 20-30 percent during the summer months in anticipation of regional deals and diverted demand toward melons, grapes and stone fruit. The net result is a more manageable volume to control and market.

A significant issue facing Central Coast lettuce shippers is the limited availability of longhaul trucks to move the crop to market. The concerns are compounded by the melon, stone fruit and grape deals, which will compete for the same set of limited trucks. A salesman for a large Salinas lettuce shipper recently stated, "The industry is in a two-month period of limited transportation and very expensive freight rates. This is a burden which will likely reduce demand and curb the market." Another salesman offered, "A sudden burst in truck availability can increase demand and cause prices to temporarily spike higher. To some degree, the lettuce market is at the mercy of the availability and cost of transportation."

Russets  - The underlining premise of the Idaho russet market has recently reversed from excess to possible delays. Persistent cool temperatures throughout the spring and early summer pushed the pending arrival of new-crop Norkotahs from Aug. 4 to Aug. 12 or later. The threat of this delay also includes the increasing likelihood of undersized russets at least in the early stages of the new crop.  Washington state shippers said that heavy supplies remain in storage but that the percentage worthy of the fresh market is below normal. Shippers are catering to their regional needs and are not aggressively competing with Idaho for business in the Midwest and East. Shippers are seeing continued strong demand from Canada, which has tightened the availability of 90s and 100s.