By the look of it on Sunday, news is out that the Sebastopol farmers market has gone year round. A few weeks ago, the market was not that well attended but a change began in mid January. Lately I’ve heard fewer people surprised that the market operates continuously, instead of closing from December through March, as it has done until now.
This Sunday, Dave Legros sold out of his wild Alaskan salmon barely an hour into the market though at 11 a.m. he still had Oregon baby shrimp, rock cod, scallops and his homemade clam chowder.
Signs of spring were everywhere: First Light Farm had flowering arugula, along with pretty lettuce, both tender leaves and small heads mixed together. They also had plenty of their popular pea shoots, grown in flats and harvested on the spot with scissors, along with tatsoi, collards, mustard greens, cabbage, kales and chards, spinach, parsley, winter squash and plenty of Oh Tommy Boy Farm potatoes.
Orchard Farm has a lot of turnips, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, in delicate shades of white, cream, pink and purple. The farm also has gorgeous leeks, Romanesco broccoli, Brussels sprouts, parsley, burdock root, salsify and some of the only organic celery around, along with radishes, bok choy, broccolini and plenty of just-picked chards and kales.
Tierra Vegetables also has salsify, along with early radicchio, carrots, sunchokes and their familiar selection of dried beans, chiles and preserves.
EarthWorker Farm is out of yacon for now but has sunflower sprouts and a weekly micro mix that on Sunday included ruby mustard, golden frills mustard, magenta chard and edible flowers.
Twin Peaks was making its final appearance of the season, with the last of its citrus. They’ll attend the Santa Rosa farmers market this Saturday and then we won’t see them again until stone fruit season begins. Schletewitz Family Farm still has plenty of citrus–grapefruit, blood oranges, naval oranges, tangelos and satsumas–and sweet potatoes.
Triple T Farms has plenty of winter crops–squash, Russian kale and rainbow chard– but their spring mix, wild arugula, Italian parsley and watercress look quite perky. This week, they had plenty of eggs but only a few bottles of their farmstead hot sauce.
Nancy Skall of Middleton Farm has several varieties of organic apples, including Bellflower and Newton Pippin, organic naval oranges, D’Angou and other varieties of pears, yellow carrots, shallots, beets, long slender leeks, beautiful fennel, sunchokes, celery root and more, including gorgeous branches of flowering quince, a favorite herald of the approaching season.
Armstrong Valley Farm’s harvest continues to be strong and diverse. They have more eggs than anyone, plenty of garlic and shallots, lots of kales, cabbages, beets, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, lemons and delicious carrots.
Some of California’s best olive oil is available from Terra Savia, which both grows and processes the olives. They have 2011 Olio Nuovo, along with Classic Tuscan and Field Blend, now available in both quart and gallon containers. They also sell estate wines–sparkling, chardonnay, pinot noir and merlot–along with olive oil soap and salve and their orchard honey.
Owen Family Farms has rabbit, lamb, veal, pork and beef; Weirauch Creamery has new cheeses nearly every week and Bodega Goat Cheese has a great selection of cheese along with their dangerously addictive natilla. Bread is from Full Circle Baking.
With delicious prepared foods, interesting information and craft vendors and live music, Sebastopol and nearby residents should make their market a year-round habit, if they haven’t already.
The market takes place Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the town plaza at the corner of McKinley and Petaluma Avenues.
