The Glen Ellen Community Farmers Market, now in its second year, is thriving, with a combination of established vendors who travel the market circuit and new vendors who have chosen this market to get their sea legs.
A couple of nearby farms, Two Moon Family Farm of Glen Ellen and Four Chicks Farm of Kenwood, often team up on market day, even though their selections overlap. Both have pastured eggs and both have leafy greens. Two Moon also has beets, carrots, purslane,and the first of the season’s tomatoes, which are just coming on. Four Chicks will have tomatoes sometime soon.
In July, another new vendor, Rose Ranch Farm, will join the market with summer melons, which thrive in the valley’s heat.
Barlow Lane Lavender of Sebastopol is a current vendor with freshly-cut deeply-color lavender. Their season will be brief but you can expect them for the next couple of weeks. Watmaugh Strawberries, located a few miles south of the market, attends when they have enough berries; currently, just one variety is ripe but a second one will be ready for harvest soon.
Noeller Farms of Hughson, a small town near Modesto, attends this market with hard-to-find true raw organic almonds that have not been irradiated, a common practice now. They also have rare red walnuts, black walnuts and roasted almonds. This family farm has existed for generations but this is its first season at a farmers market.
Calvillo Brothers, an organic farm in Watsonville, has strawberries, leafy greens, cauliflower, onions and potatoes.
The Patch, located in Sonoma and a vendor at many local markets, is currently harvesting onions, green beans, several types of summer squash and carrots. Expect Patch tomatoes in another couple of weeks.
Neufeld Farm, familiar to almost anyone who attends a farmers market, is here with dried fruits and nuts, fresh stone fruit and cow’s milk cheeses from Dacheva Son’s Cheese Company.
Carson’s Catch attends with fresh and smoked salmon, cod and, occasionally, other selections.Victorian Farmstead attends this market with its wide selection of pastured eggs and chicken and grass-fed meats. Bloomfield Bees has honey and beeswax products.
Also cutting its farmers market teeth is Gypsy Girl Sausage, with fresh specialty sausages.
When it comes to foods to enjoy on the spot or take home, there are hot tamales and salsas from Mi Fiesta, along with enchiladas, tortillas and other products, all good. Chai’s Gourmet serves banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) and delicious coconut-lemongrass soup.
This new market has between 30 and 35 vendors a week, offering plenty of seasonal produce and good reasons to linger. There are a number of arts and crafts vendors, including a Glen Ellen carpenter who works with wood reclaimed from wine barrels.
The location of this market in the Jack London Village contributes to its appeal. Early in the day, you might hear the melody of the nearby creek and patches of shade offer respite from the sun. There are good restaurants nearby should you want a sit-down meal after shopping and if you just want to soak up community, you won’t find a better place on Sunday morning in the Valley of the Moon than this charming farmers market.
The Glen Ellen Community Farmers Market, founded in 2011 and managed by Kelly Smith, takes place on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from May 13 through October 28. It is located in the north parking lot of Jack London Village (14301 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen).
