Good morning!
Like every Sunday, I'm here with my notebook in one hand and the weather forecast in the other, organizing the week 📅.
What a start we had last week, it was so hot! A few years ago, the shoulder seasons were much more pronounced.
Spring arrived step by step, and autumn too, as if nature was shifting down a gear so that everything could fall into place.
Now we get a heatwave in May, and it suddenly feels like July ☀️.
And the shoulder seasons, {nombre}, are very important in the countryside...
Such early heat is not typical here. And although nature is powerful and adapts over time, plants also get confused.
Shoulder seasons are times of transition and, for a tree, it's not easy to go from cold to hot without that intermediate period that helps it gain strength.
Just as it's not good for us to get out of bed and run a marathon without stretching, it's not great for the tree to suddenly have summer turned on. First, it needs its resting time, then a gentle awakening, and only then can it grow upwards with enthusiasm.
When the heat comes early, the plant breathes faster, loses water more easily, and opens flowers before it's fully ready.
It's like organizing a party in a hurry and realizing halfway through the afternoon that there are missing guests and chairs.
For farmers, this complicates things because it changes the rules of the game. What we used to do by heart now needs to be reviewed week by week, even day by day.
If the forecast warns of a heat peak, we need to adjust irrigation, get up earlier to work in the cool, protect soil moisture, and pamper those awakening buds.
Meanwhile, we continue with our work, which is harvesting only what you order.
Sometimes you ask me if the countryside gets used to it. It does get used to it, yes, nature always finds its way. But our timelines are shorter than hers.
We play this year's campaign, not the one twenty years from now. That's why a Sunday like today is golden for planning, for deciding which plots we visit first, what we harvest as soon as dawn breaks, and what we let breathe a little longer.
I trust this week will be calm and that the weather will cooperate. That we get a few days of old-fashioned spring and can work without major disruptions 🌦️.
Thank you for being on the other side and for reading me every week. Your company is appreciated.
If you can, also plan your purchases to have a perfect week. It helps us harvest exactly what you're going to enjoy, and it ensures you get freshly cut fruit and vegetables that truly taste like the countryside.
A big hug from the Valencia orchard, and have a beautiful Sunday,
