Summer is heating up, and so is fig season! These luscious fruits bring a short but glorious window of flavor, perfect for adding richness, beauty, and intrigue to menus and seasonal sets.

Black Mission figs have deep purple skins and a raspberry-jammy center. Syrupy and bold, they’re the classic fig for good reason.

Brown Turkey figs are the first to arrive.  Plump, mild, and mellow, these figs are easy to love. Their soft skins and gentle flavor make them ideal for fresh snacking, roasting, or pairing with cheese.

Candy Stripe figs are known for their eye-catching variegated skin and stunning raspberry-pink flesh. These
are the showstoppers of the fig world—sweet, juicy, and perfect for appeal.

Conadria figs offer a delicate counterpoint—pale green with a hint of blush under the skin and a tropical, honeyed sweetness that melts in your mouth.

Excel figs have a thin, yellow-green skin and rich amber interior. Their smooth yellow skin gives way to a rich, syrupy center with notes of honey and apricot. These figs are especially beloved for their balanced sweetness and smooth texture, making them a go-to for fig lovers and a standout in seasonal sets.

Kadota figs are small, firm, and subtly sweet with pale green skin and creamy amber flesh. Their mild flavor makes them a versatile pick for both sweet and savory dishes, and their firm texture holds up beautifully when grilled, roasted, or sliced fresh into salads.

Fun Fig Fact: What we call a fig “fruit” is actually an inverted flower. Some varieties are pollinated by tiny fig wasps in one of nature’s most fascinating partnerships.

Did you know? Figs (Ficus carica) are believed to be one of the very first plants cultivated by humans, possibly even predating wheat and barley. Archaeological evidence from the Jordan Valley suggests figs were grown as far back as 11,000 years ago! In many cultures, they symbolize fertility, peace, wisdom, and prosperity.

Brief, beautiful, and bursting with history—figs are a summer standout. Add them to your lineup while the season is at its peak!

New & Exciting

Apple: It may not feel like fall yet, but the early apples are starting to roll in—and we’re here for it! Wildfire Galas are the first sparks of the season—crisp, aromatic, and packed with early-summer sugars. Grown in California, these Galas have superb color and offer a slightly more intense flavor than your standard storage Gala. This fruit is best eaten fresh and fast. Gravensteins are also here! These heirloom darlings are a true taste of California’s apple history—tart, juicy, and complex, with that unmistakable floral finish. They’re perfect for pies, juice, sauce, or straight-up snacking. Their season is famously short, so get them while you can!

Dried Fruit: Dried peaches and nectarines are back from Knoll Farms—beautiful for bulk bins and summer pantry displays.

Fig: We’ve got Black Mission figs from AJM (Maywood Farms coming soon), and they are deep purple, syrupy, and bursting with flavor. We’re especially excited about the Conadria fig, a delicate, green variety and a welcome addition to the lineup. Brown Turkey figs are also in from both AJM and Knoll Farms. And mark your calendars—Candy Stripes are expected around August 10th. These raspberry-fleshed beauties are as stunning as they are sweet.

Garlic: Christopher Ranch’s Elephant Garlic is back in season! Despite the name, this gentle giant is more closely related to leeks than true garlic. Its oversized cloves pack a mild, sweet flavor—perfect for roasting whole, slicing into sautés, or mellowing out your garlic-forward dishes.

Grape: The grape game is strong right now, with old favorites and specialty stunners showing up in full force. Don’t snooze—these varieties move fast! Have you tried finger shaped Quips from Murray Family Farms? Long, slender, and totally snackable, they’re as fun to eat as they are to say. We’ve been especially taken with the red Mayabelles—beautiful, balanced, and a great value. Sweet Secret lives up to its name with dark berries, long straggly bunches, and off-the-charts flavor. With a Brix reading around 30, they’re complex, not cloying—our buyer’s top pick among the candy-style grapes. Champagne grapes are still getting sweeter—tiny berries, big visual impact—but don’t wait, their season is short. Thomcords have officially kicked off and will be steady for the season. Sweet Dream, a black seedless type is another Murray specialty that has a spicy Concord flavor. Coming soon: Funny Fingers, Rugby and Candy Hearts! The list goes on! Concord grapes from our beloved Heinke Family Farm are two weeks away, In the meantime, don’t miss Capay Canyon’s red Flame grape, now in full swing, (a VV Exclusive!). The berries are incredibly dark and delicious this year!

Mango: First of the Keitts from Mexico are arriving.  We expect them to be limited so get ‘em while you can!

Nuts: New Braga Organic Farms trail mix in bulk or 8oz packs not to be missed! The mix includes dried cranberries and raisins with raw almonds, walnuts, and pistachio kernels.

Pear: Fresh crop California Bartletts from First Lady have landed—crisp, juicy, and perfect for late-summer transitions. Red Starkrimsons from Columbia Gorge in Oregon’s Hood River are expected to start around August 14—stay tuned!

Potato: Russets from Bouchey Potatoes are almost here- we expect them next Thursday, August 7^th. We’ll have a beautiful lineup of specialty potatoes: Purple Fingerling, Mixed Fingerling, Russian Banana, French Fingerling, and more. Great color, great texture, and plenty of summer menu potential.

Promotable

Avocado: Hass prices from Las Palmalitas Ranch (VV Exclusive!) are finally softening, with good supply and great quality.  A summer staple!

Basil: Veliz Organic Family Farm has beautiful 24-count basil—fresh, fragrant, and promo-ready. Vibrant green leaves, strong aroma, and steady volume make it a great pick for summer displays and warm-weather cooking.

Bean: Green beans from Coke Farm are coming in strong—fresh, snappy, and flavorful. Specialty bean varieties are holding steady with good quality and volume.

Berry: Strawberries are plentiful, bright, flavorful, and harvest-fresh from Coke Farm and JW Farms. Blueberries from Homegrown Organic Farms remain Raspberries from AG Berry Farm are tasty and firm with strong quality and stable pricing. Blackberries are in from John Givens Farm—plump, juicy, and looking good.

Broccoli: Really gorgeous and plentiful, with great pricing.

Carrot: Bagged, table, and juice carrots from Veliz Organic Family Farm are in great supply. Fresh, flavorful, and priced right—these are local! We also have bunched carrots from both Veliz Organic Family Farm and John Givens Farm, offering a strong mix of quality and value. And don’t miss the rainbow carrots from Lakeside Organic Gardens—vibrant, eye-catching, and tasting as good as they look.

Cauliflower: Supply is up and pricing is coming down—plentiful and looking sharp and clean!

Celery: Steady supply and low prices continue—steady and reliable for summer sets.

Eggplant: We’ve got beautiful Black Beauty and super fun (and gorgeous) mixed specialty eggplant from Oya Organics. If you haven’t checked them out yet, now’s the time. They’re looking great and ready to shine in any summer set.

Melon: Rundle Family Farms and Full Belly Farm are keeping the melon magic going! Seeded watermelon bins are here, and we’ve got plenty of Cantaloupe, Canaries, Goddess, Orange Honeydew, and Honeyloupes.  If you haven’t tried Honeyloupes they’re delicious- sweet, smooth, and striking. We’ve got a new variety called Dark Belle, a seeded watermelon with black skin- gorgeous! Piel de Sapo is as wonderful as ever, and we expect more melon magic to come!

Okra: We’ve got lots of okra ready to send your way, perfect for summer grilling and gumbo lovers.

Tomato: Veliz Organic Family Farm cherry tomatoes are abundant, delicious, and filled with summer.  And they are priced to move! Veliz’s mixed heirlooms and Durst Organic Growers beefsteaks have also arrived—colorful, flavorful, and ready for peak heirloom displays.

Squash: Summer squash is queen!  We’ve got gorgeous green Zucchini from Coke Farm and Pinnacle/Foster, and mixed varieties coming from both Comanche Creek Farms and Riverdog Farm are looking vibrant and abundant—peak-season quality across the board.

Stone Fruit: We’re at the height of peach season, with juicy, flavorful fruit coming in from a range of growers and varieties. We’re down to the last of the Masumoto peaches, but there’s still plenty of beautiful fruit to enjoy. Pluots from Wild River are also in—vibrant, sweet-tart, and packed with flavor. A staff favorite that adds color and complexity to any summer stonefruit set.

Limited or Gapping

• Asparagus: Market is tight.
• Mexican Bell Peppers are gapping.
• Citrus: Lemons are tight. Grapefruit winding down.
• Dragonfruit will be reappearing (both red & yellow skin, white-flesh varieties) from a sweet family farm, Tierra Organica, in Ecuador!
• Lettuce: Green Butter lettuce is very limited and heads are small.
• Mango: Kents are gapping. Ataulfos are winding down.
• Purple Garlic is very limited.
• Tomato: TOVs and Mexican-grown Beefsteak tomatoes are limited!.
• Turnips are gapping.

Done for the Season

• Green Bell Peppers from Rundle Family Farms.
• Celery Root from Lakeside Organic Gardens.