It is rainy, then sunny, then snowy, then rainy, and then sunny again in California. If you've been watching the West Coast weather report, you may be wondering how Sun Valley is holding up. "Great," says Bill Prescott, Director of Sales and Marketing. "We are well on track, and we have excellent availability across the board for Easter and Mother's Day. "
Built to handle any amount of rain
"Being based in Humboldt County, a region known for redwoods, wild running rivers, and very, very wet winters, we are built to handle basically any amount of rain. Our Tulips, Lilies, Butterflies, and Iris probably don't even realize they live in a temperate rainforest."
At Sun Valley, they are thrilled to have these atmospheric rivers filling up their reservoirs and water tables. "But geez, the marketing people in the weather industry sure have gotten good at freaking people out. Rain and wind are no problem here on the farm. Did you know Humboldt County usually gets between 40-60 inches of rain a year? No problemo!"
Night temperatures
The one factor that they do watch closely is the night-time temperatures. "If they dip below the 40s, many of our field crops stop growing. Since we reached the first day of spring last week, let's hope these temperatures keep climbing. It is interesting that some crops like Iris like it a bit warmer, whereas our Butterflies prefer it cooler, and of course, any flowers growing under glass, like Tulips and Oriental Lilies, we can control by adjusting the environment inside the greenhouse."
Easter and Mother's Day
And as Easter is around the corner, followed by Mother's day, how is the demand? "As we roll into Easter shipping, we see a mixed market, with some customers going big and others playing the holiday much more conservatively. Demand-wise, the market seems to be tightening up, especially for Mother's Day. We have many wholesale customers pre-booking to make sure they get the stems they need to be reserved for the holiday. Luckily with tulips, we can pivot to meet demand by taking more crates into the greenhouse and bringing them to harvest quickly. As a California-based farm, we also avoid the bottleneck of Miami, so we can be more nimble in providing products for our customers across the nation."
For more information: 
Bill Prescott
The Sun Valley Group
3160 Upper Bay Road
Arcata, CA 95521-9690
Tel.: 707-825-580
Email: bprescott@tsvg.com
www.thesunvalleygroup.com