The Sonora vegetable season is underway with squash harvest already started and cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, and peppers coming online shortly. Growers entered the season after weeks of extreme swings — temperatures near 120°F in fields followed by cold, rainy, hail-producing weather — and preparation focused heavily on managing excess rainfall rather than the typical heat concerns. All fields are planted and growers are now watching how their prep holds up.
Sonora is one of the most critical winter vegetable regions for North America, supplying squash, cucumbers, peppers, and more through the Nogales, Arizona crossing from October into June. SunFed, one of the region's major shippers, notes squash is its largest commodity and the company received its first Sonora squash three weeks ago. Quality-tier percentages for squash may run lower than usual due to rain and hail damage, though specifications themselves will remain unchanged — product will just sort differently than a clean-weather year.
Watch availability and grade distribution on squash and cucumbers as October gets going. Proximity to the border keeps transit times short, which helps, but weather variability throughout the growing season means growers are managing week to week rather than making longer-term projections.