Thank you to our wonderful customers who have made the past 5 years with our little business so enjoyable.  We wish you every success and happiness in life.

Customers have suggested freezing the juice of lemons and limes in ice cube trays.

We like to squeeze a little lemon/lime on fruit salad, fish, chicken, and veggies.  Gives the taste a little zip!  Slices of any citrus and/or cucumber also add a nice touch to water.   For a different taste, try mixing equal parts fresh lemonade and club soda–lemonade with sparkle.

A google search will find  you recipes for marmalade, chutney, and desserts using lemons or limes.  (We’re still waiting to try the Lime Chiffon Cake recipe we found this summer–but it sounds yummy!)

Besides crazy weather, it’s been crazy here keeping up with the kids.  Many of you have gotten to know our oldest boy Hans who often drives deliveries.  He stayed in Utah after the wedding in August and tried out for their rugby team.  BYU’s rugby team is the collegiate national champion this year, and he made the team!!  He’ll be leaving in January to start college life.

We’ve spent today updating email lists and improving our payment records, so hopefully things will flow more smoothly in the future.  Now on to blog updates and possibly adding PayPal to this site.

We hope that your autumn is beautiful and that things are going smoothly in your life!

Just to make it more exciting, Hans will be out of town so we’re short one of our muscular helpers.  With other complications, we may be down to one “lifter and carrier”, SO, we’re asking you to please be patient with us next week as we work through things.  We’re also a little slower responding to emails–but it should still be within 24 hours (but never on Sunday!)

Thank you SO MUCH to those who have shared information about the baskets with their friends.

Finally, be sure to check out the New Customer Letter in the Pages section of the blog.  We look forward to serving you!

First, don’t waste.  Use what you have on hand before buying more.  Plan meals around what you have.  If you have lots lots of lettuce, have a taco salad or a d-i-y salad bar (with beans or lean meat for protein) for supper.  Preserve foods–freeze, dehydrate, can.

Focus your dollar where it will have the greatest nutritional impact.  Quit wasting it on things like soda and pre-packaged chips and cookies that will only add to your future costs–short term with dieting, long term with health issues.  There are no trans fats or excess sugars or fats in fresh produce!!

Finally, share what you have.  If you can’t use it all or preserve it (even if you can), look to someone who can use it–and maybe really needs the blessing.  You’ll be blessed for sharing and more good will come into your life.

1.  Increased growing costs – Again, the doubled costs of fuel since 2004 and the 100% increase in “fertilizer, pesticides, and other inputs” are causing farmers and suppliers to scramble to keeps costs as reasonable as possible, but neither can continue to absorb cost increases.

2.  Wage rates and labor availability – “Minimum wage in California is up 18% in the past 14 months” which is the leading cause of harvest costs increasing “over 15% in the last two years.”  Immigration issues have greatly reduced the work force.  Growers are investigating and investing in greater automation of harvesting.

3.  Packaging – Would you believe oil prices impact this too?  “High oil costs are increasing the cost of resins, which is affecting film costs” which have risen 10% this year.  Liner board costs are increasing box price, too.  Taylor is working hard to contain costs, but will still have to raises prices this month and possibly again in September to offset the costs they’ve incurred.

*Cooler than usual December weather slowing growing process (Central America)

*Flooding (Ecuador)

*Russian appetite.  Russia is using the money we pay them for oil to pay cash for LOTS of fruit from Central America which limits the supply available to others.

*Increased costs, particularly transportation costs.  “Fertilizer, pesticides and other inputs are up 100% in the past 36 months and the cost of diesel to run our trucks & tractors has doubled since 2004.)

*Prorating.  With less available, most orders will not be completely filled.