Summer is here, even if the temperatures aren’t extreme yet. If you find the following, purchase soon as their late spring, early summer season ends any time (for more information on seasonality, please click here): shelled peas and beans, beets, carrots, turnips, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, and kale. Berries and some stone fruits will also be gone soon. Peaches will continue to later in the summer.
Recent additions this season are corn, eggplant, okra, Malabar and water spinach, micro-cilantro, squash blossoms, arugula flowers and tomatillos.
Melons are just beginning to appear. Root vegetables to be found far into summer include red and yellow onions, red and white potatoes, and dried garlic. Green beans are yellows and greens, flat and twisted with yellow wax, jumbo, dragon, and provider.
Herbs such as mints (lemon, chocolate, and pineapple), spicy oregano, and basil varietals including cinnamon, sweet Italian, Thai, Genovese, lime, and red are also available. Several sprouts and wheat grasses are also found.
Green leafy vegetables can be grown hydroponically in green houses, so find red oak leaf lettuce, red and green lettuce mix, butterhead lettuce, mizuna, sorrel, and arugula.
The classic summer vegetables – cucumbers, squash, peppers, and tomatoes – are plentiful. Cucumbers are ready for slicing, pickling, and include interesting varieties like Armenian and lemon. Squash span the color spectrum from whites and yellows through all shades of green with white and sunburst patty pan, yellow summer, all sizes of zucchini with round and long, large and small, dark green to light Butta.
Pepper varieties continue to expand, and colorful bell, hot cherry, cayenne, shishito, jalapeno, sweet banana, padrone, Carmen green, and hot wax give customers choices.
Tomatoes are also available in a wide array of sizes and colors, for different uses. Varieties include green, red slicer, cherry, lemon boy, Roma, heirlooms, gem, solid gold, sun gold, grape, and Julie.
In addition, customers can find a large selection of non-produce items, including pastured beef, lamb, pork, and chicken raised on a natural diet.
Free range eggs, Artisan cheeses, butter, honey, a large variety of prepared foods, snacks and desserts, popsicles, mixes, lemonade, coffee, teas, vinegar and olive oil along with doggie treats, soaps and lotions, bedding and edible plants round out the offerings.
As customers find melons and heavier or larger purchases, look for the Veggie Valet area at the southwest corner of the market for a free holding service while the car is brought up to the curb. Please see this link for more information on the recently introduced Veggie Valet.
We are a local, seasonal farmers market; meaning that our farmers bring only what is ripening in their fields each week and some produce is short lived due to a short growing season. Eating with the seasons takes education, awareness and patience! For a chart of what’s in season now, click here. Our farmers use various growing methods. Some produce is organic (not certified), some is sustainable, and some is grown conventionally. Just ask the farmers.