Today I write to you with my boots still wet. Rain is life, yes, but sometimes it turns our field upside down. We are currently experiencing intense rainfall, which means we will have to delay our return to work.
I'm telling you how it affects us, so that when you see us delay a delivery by a few days, you'll know that it's not a whim, it's about taking care of the fruit and your fridge.
On the one hand, we have oranges and tangerines, and with them, the rule is clear: wet fruit is not harvested. We have to wait for the tree and the peel to dry. If you cut it wet, the risk of fungi and rot skyrockets. It's like inviting them to a party that nobody wants at home.
When the peel is soaked, it becomes delicate. It marks easily, loses its natural defense, and its shelf life is reduced. What should happily last a week might sadly only make it halfway. And if the rain comes with wind, the ground wakes up carpeted with fallen fruit. We can no longer send that, for quality and common sense.
Think of citrus peel as a living raincoat. If you saturate it, it softens, and any friction leaves an invisible wound. That's where the problems begin. That's why we prefer to add patience and subtract haste.
For tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, rain can cause cracking, excess water in the fruit, and loss of flavor, requiring more careful selection.
On the other hand, crops like potatoes and onions are affected because wet soil makes harvesting difficult and can compromise their subsequent preservation. In the case of other leafy greens, rain makes the leaves more fragile, dirty, and less durable.
Something surprising happens with lettuce. Everyone thinks it loves water, but it's not a fish. If it's wet, it's not cut. Rain halts the harvest. Excess moisture robs it of its crispness and firmness. You notice it when you pinch the leaf; it loses that fresh spark we love so much.
Furthermore, humidity is a highway for fungi and bacteria. And its shelf life at home plummets. A well-cut and dry lettuce can last you about ten days in the fridge. After a downpour, if harvested at the wrong time, it sometimes doesn't last more than five. It's better to wait for the dew to clear and cut at dawn when the leaf is dry, which is how we've always done it.
Here, we work as our grandparents did, with thought and calm. Every morning I review the orders, and we only go out to harvest what you ask us for. That is our way of working, and it allows us to send you freshly cut fruit and vegetables, from our fields and from those of fellow farmers throughout Spain, defending a fair price for those who grow it and an honest quality for those who eat it.
And what happens on rainy days? It's time to play chess with the sky. We calculate whether to wait, whether to move one plot, whether to advance another. Sometimes it's better to delay a shipment by a day than to send you an orange with tired skin or a lettuce that won't last. We prefer your first bite to taste of the field and not of a downpour.
Rain gives us and sometimes takes away, but in the countryside, it rules. We provide the skill, patience, and care. And if we ever notify you with an umbrella in hand, it's because we want what arrives at your table to be perfect.
Thank you for being on the other side and for learning with us through clouds and clear skies. Any questions, here I am, with hands still smelling of orange blossom and wet earth.
A big hug and see you next week...
