Notes from the dock
Buyer's guides to everything we carry, and the industry and policy stories that move prices in Los Angeles, written by the family that runs the floor. Every number is cited at the foot of the article.
This season in produce
What is happening to tomatoes, grapes, water, labor and traceability, and what it means for your order sheet.
Industry · October 27, 2026 · 7 min read
Mexican tomatoes after the suspension agreement: what the 17% duty did to prices
Commerce ended the 2019 U.S.-Mexico tomato agreement in July 2025 and replaced it with a 17.09% antidumping duty. Fifteen months on, here is what happened to supply and prices, and where the rest of Mexican produce stands on tariffs.
Industry · October 27, 2026 · 7 min read
California table grapes 2026: a bigger crop, an early start and a short finish
USDA forecasts a 1.15 million ton crop, up about 10% from 2025, after the earliest bloom growers can remember. With cold storage at an eight-year high and the season ending in mid-November, here is how to plan grape buying through the holidays.
Industry · October 27, 2026 · 7 min read
FSMA 204 traceability: the 2028 deadline and what it asks of a produce distributor
FDA's Food Traceability Rule now has a July 20, 2028 enforcement date. Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs are all on the list. Here is what the rule requires at each step from field to kitchen, and why the date moved.
Industry · October 27, 2026 · 6 min read
A snowless April and a 28% allocation: California water in 2026
Full reservoirs, a record-hot March that erased the snowpack, and allocations that crept up all summer. What the 2026 water year meant for Central Valley growers and for the fruit and vegetables that reach Los Angeles.
Industry · October 27, 2026 · 7 min read
The H-2A wage rule, the court, and what farm labor costs in California now
A 2025 rule rewrote how guestworker wages are set and cut the California rate on paper from $19.97 an hour to as low as $13.45. A federal judge found it unlawful in August 2026. Here is where wages, growers and back pay stand.
Product guides
One guide per item: where it grows, how to buy and receive it, how to hold it, what is in it, and how LA kitchens use it.
Product guide · Cucumbers · 6 min read
Persian cucumbers: small, seedless and built to be eaten raw
The thin-skinned mini cucumber that Los Angeles kitchens slice without peeling. What the type is, where KQP gets it year-round, how our Fancy, Extra Fancy and #2 grades work, and the storage numbers that keep it crisp.
Product guide · Cucumbers · 6 min read
Pickling cucumbers: short, blocky and grown for the jar
The stubby, thin-skinned cucumber behind every deli pickle and half-sour. How it differs from a slicer, what the USDA size standards mean, how KQP grades and packs it year-round, and how to hold it so it stays crisp into the brine.
Product guide · Cucumbers · 6 min read
American slicing cucumbers: the 36-count box that runs the salad bar
The dark-skinned standard slicer for delis, salad bars and prep kitchens. What Super Select, Select, Large and Plain mean, how the USDA grades line up, where the fruit comes from through the year, and the storage numbers that prevent pitting.
Product guide · Squash · 6 min read
Mexican squash: the pale calabacita for sautes, soups and tacos
Grey squash, calabacita, Mexican zucchini: the tender, pale summer squash that Mexican and Central American kitchens cook daily. What it is, where it grows, how KQP grades and packs it, how long it holds, and what is in it.
Product guide · Squash · 6 min read
Italian squash: zucchini graded by size for a consistent prep line
Dark green zucchini is the squash every kitchen runs through daily. What the Extra Fancy, Fancy and Medium size grades mean in inches, where the fruit comes from month by month, how long it holds at 41 to 50 F, and what is in it.
Product guide · Squash · 6 min read
Pattypan squash: the scalloped summer squash we carry in winter
Pattypan is a specialty item at KQP from December through February, packed 10 lb in mixed sizes. What it is, how to judge it on the dock, how to hold it, and what it brings to the plate.
Product guide · Beans · 6 min read
Romano beans: the flat Italian pod that stays meaty after cooking
Flat, wide and sweet, Romano beans are a year-round item at KQP in 13 lb boxes, with short pods added in summer. How to buy the two cuts, hold them cold, and cook them.
Product guide · Beans · 6 min read
Green beans: buying, storing and moving the 28 lb box
Straight, tender green beans from summer through winter in 28 lb boxes. The USDA grades, the UC Davis storage numbers, where the crop grows, and the nutrition behind it.
Product guide · Peppers · 7 min read
Habanero peppers: fruit-forward heat, sized small and large
Orange habaneros run June through November at KQP in 10 lb boxes. The heat numbers, the UC Davis storage window, the vitamin C figure, and how Los Angeles kitchens use them.
Product guide · Peppers · 7 min read
Anaheim peppers: the long, mild green chile for roasting and rajas
Anaheims run summer through winter at KQP in 20 lb boxes. Where the name came from, how hot they are in Scoville units, how to store them for weeks, and what the nutrition entry says.
Product guide · Tomatoes · 6 min read
Beefsteak tomatoes: buying the big slicer by layer count
KQP's summer beefsteaks come graded 4x5 through 6x6 in 25 lb boxes. What the sizes mean, how to hold the fruit, what USDA says is in it, and what the 2025 end of the tomato suspension agreement did to the market.
Product guide · Tomatoes · 6 min read
Roma tomatoes: the sauce and salsa tomato, sized medium to jumbo
KQP's summer romas come Medium through Jumbo in 25 lb boxes. How the plum tomato is built, how to hold it, what USDA's Foundation Foods sample says is in it, and how the 2025 antidumping duty on Mexican tomatoes has played out.
Product guide · Herbs · 6 min read
Sweet basil in winter: bunches, chilling and the downy mildew problem
KQP's sweet basil is a December-to-February program, 60 bunches to a box. Why basil must stay above 50°F, how to spot cold damage and downy mildew at the dock, and what USDA says is in the leaf.
Product guide · Herbs · 6 min read
Opal basil: the purple basil with a spicier oil, in bunches year-round
KQP carries opal (red) basil year-round, 60 bunches to a box. What makes the leaf purple and the flavor sharper, how to handle a chilling-sensitive herb whose cold damage is hard to see, and what the lab numbers say about purple versus green.
Product guide · Herbs · 6 min read
Lemon basil: the citrus-scented basil Southeast Asian kitchens build around
KQP carries lemon basil year-round, 60 bunches to a box. What makes it smell like citrus, where it grows, how to receive and store a chilling-sensitive herb, and what USDA and university labs say about the leaf.
Product guide · Herbs · 6 min read
Tarragon: the anise-scented herb behind bearnaise and fines herbes
French tarragon, year-round in 1 lb bags or a 10 lb box of ten. What it is, how to check it on receiving, how long it holds at 32 F, and where Los Angeles kitchens use it.
Product guide · Fruit · 7 min read
Persimmons: Fuyu and Hachiya from the San Joaquin Valley
California grows about 99 percent of U.S. persimmons, and the season runs October through December. How to buy Fuyu by the count and Hachiya by the tray, and how to keep both.
Product guide · Fruit · 7 min read
Pomegranates: Granada to Wonderful across the San Joaquin Valley season
California grows more than 90 percent of U.S. pomegranates. How the early varieties lead into Wonderful, what the 16-to-36 count sizes mean, and why 41 F and a dry cooler matter.
Product guide · Fruit · 7 min read
Red grapes: Flame Seedless to Crimson across the California season
California grows 99 percent of U.S. table grapes, and the reds run from Coachella in May to San Joaquin Valley storage fruit in January. Varieties, packs, receiving checks and the cold chain.
Product guide · Fruit · 7 min read
Green grapes: Sugraone to Autumn King, June through January
The green side of the California table grape deal: early Sugraone and Ivory, Thompson Seedless and the new crunchy greens in summer, Autumn King to close. Packs, receiving checks and storage.
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