Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, San Francisco

YouTube likes to show the odd pictures of my face Ha!

This last July has been great for fresh fruit. Here is a little tour of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in San Francisco.

~Spraying Fruit Organically
~Picking & Packing Peaches for Market
~At the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
~The First Farmer’s Market
~½ OFF Fresh Fruit in San Francisco on the 15th

~Spraying Fruit Organically
The other day, I drove up to the farm, hopped out of my truck, and I thought I smelled someone making a huge bowl of pasta sauce with lots of garlic. I followed my nose into the organic peach orchard where I found a tractor spraying the trees to keep mites from wanting to crawl on them. Mites will climb up on a tree and suck the nutrition from tree’s leaves. Apparently we don't have Italian mites because they really don't like the smell or taste of garlic as much as I do.

~Picking & Packing Peaches for Market
When Peaches are picked for market, one needs to be very attentive to what is being picked. It is important to only pick the ripest fruit because not all the fruit will ripen on a tree at once. Fruit brought to the farmer’s markets is supreme, it’s not shipped in from some other country or even another state. It was grown right down the road and allowed to ripen to perfection on the tree. Because the fruit is so ripe when it is picked, we never stack the fruit more than one layer tall in each box. If fruit this ripe was stacked on top of other fruit and transported to market, it would easily bruise and begin to spoil. After the fruit is picked, it is sized so all the peaches in a box are the same size. The fruit is also looked over once more for defects when it is sized.

~At the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
If you ever have the chance to visit the The Farmer’s Market in San Francisco, you need to check it out! On Saturday, the Ferry Plaza Building on Union St. is packed with farmers who grew the decadent produce which is exuberantly filling their both. It is a dream-come-true for foodies. As you walk through the market which is in a breathtaking atmosphere that sits at the base of San Francisco’s sky scrapers and overlooks the monstrous Bay Bridge and beautiful San Francisco Bay, you are overwhelmed with so many types of food. Just to name a few, there are all sorts of sea-food, amazing fresh bread (I love Acme Bread Co.!), dozens of mushrooms to pick from, countless squash, all sorts of large and small melons, and even freshly picked flowers of all kinds!

When I was at the market last, I ran into Darya, the creator of www.SummerTomato.com. Darya is a scientist, foodie, and advocate of locally grown foods. If you want to get some good tips about healthy eating and want to know what’s good at the farmer’s market, you have to check out Darya's blog! She shared some good advice in the video. In the summer, there is so much sweet fresh fruit that we don’t need to be snacking on chocolates and other sweets. Her website is constantly updated with new foods and recipes. I think you’ll enjoy it!

~The First Farmer’s Market
It is believed that the first California Farmers Market was held in San Francisco in 1943. During WWII, farmers were having a difficult time selling their produce to canneries. Perhaps it’s because canneries were having a difficult time getting tin to can the fruit. In Marin County, pear farmers had 300 tons of pears picked and rotting away as they waited for canneries to purchase them for .04 cents a pound. Farmers knew that pears were going for .17 to .22 cents in retail markets. Through the news and media, farmers were able to communicate the problem they were facing. When people found out that they can get pears for .04 a pound straight from the farm, they loaded up their cars with boxes, drove out to Marin County, and the 300 tons of pears disappeared in one afternoon!

Because of gas restrictions, the people in the cities craving fresh fruit from the farm couldn’t get to other farmers with the same problem. So to solve this problem, farmers loaded up their trucks and came to the cities in the same way Vivian and Belle do today.

~½ OFF Fresh Fruit in San Francisco on the 15th
Here is a little secret for anyone who is going to be in the Bay Area August the 15th. We have soooo many certified organic Angela Peaches that we are taking them to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market and selling them in peach flats for 1/2 OFF! These flats of organic peaches weigh 10-12 lbs and normally sell for $20 but will be just $10 on the 15th! Well be at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, to the right of the clock tower. I will be at the peach sale on the 15th so say hi if you're in the area!

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market!
Michael Colombo