Marin Roots Farm featured on Bay Area Bites

The newest addition to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Marin Roots Farm, was featured this week in a post by Jennifer Maiser on Bay Area Bites. Click here to read the post, and click here to read CUESA's profile of the farm; you can also see a satellite image of the farm using our interactive map. Look forward to more information about Marin Roots Farm in upcoming e-letters.

Tune into 960AM ~ January 12

Tomorrow, January 12, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, an interview with CUESA's Board President Janet Griggs and our Executive Director Dave Stockdale will air on the Joan Kenley Show on San Francisco’s Green 960AM KKGN. You can also listen to the interview, entitled "What on Earth are We Eating?," online at www.joankenley.com.

Citrus Festival ~ February 2

On Saturday, February 2, CUESA kicks off the 2008 season of Market to Table programs with a Citrus Celebration. Join us in enjoying the sweet and tangy fruits grown in the California sunshine. From 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, test your citrus knowledge at our citrus variety tasting challenge! At 10:30 am, join us for a citrus farmer interview and cooking demonstration by Stephanie Rosenbaum, food writer and author (titles include Honey: From Flower to Table), featuring citrus recipes. All programs take place in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

Rancho Gordo makes Saveur's 100 list

Saveur magazine has named Ferry Plaza Farmers Market seller Rancho Gordo on their list of 100 foods and trends that represent the contemporary culinary world. Click here to read >

CUESA volunteer Shannon Donahue wrote this week's feature.

The date is the fruit of the date palm tree, Phoenix dactylifera. Dates are drupes, a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a “pit” of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. While not widely consumed in the United States, dates are a staple food in the desert regions of North Africa and the Middle East. Major date-producing countries include Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Date cultivation began in prehistoric times, as evidenced by frequent depictions of the date palm in Egyptian and Mesopotamian carvings. Date palms thrive in hot, dry climates, and just a few places in North America provide the optimal growing conditions for the palms, among them La Purisima and Baja California, Mexico; Yuma and Dateland, Arizona; and Thermal, California.

At Flying Disc Ranch in Thermal, Robert Lower and Christina Kelso grow twelve date varietals. Their farming style, which they term ‘eco-safe biodynamic,’ is a combination of indigenous and intensive cultivation practices. Both Robert and Christina cite multiple inspirations that influenced their farming styles. Robert grew up in Santa Barbara, where he tended his parents’ orchards and gardens, and traveled throughout Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, and Baja California, Mexico – all major date-producing regions. Christina, once a Bay Area denizen, was inspired by visionary farmers such as Nan Ullrike Koehler of Rainbow’s End Farm and Nigel Walker of Eatwell Farm to follow her heart to farming.

Robert purchased the eleven-acre farm in 1979, when the land was little more than raw, hilly desert with native plants. After nearly 30 years of careful cultivation, some of the farm’s 400 palms are 24 feet tall. When tended correctly, date palms produce prolific quantities of fruit: one Flying Disc Ranch palm may yield 1,200 pounds of dates in a single growing season! Robert and Christina credit this productivity to their unique farming style.

Every farm faces distinctive challenges based on its location, soil composition, and crop types. Robert and Christina contend with sandy soil, an arid climate, and a high average temperature. Although date palms thrive in dry climates, they need water to produce fruit. Robert and Christina mitigate the Coachella Valley’s heat and aridity through their adherence to permaculture, a perennial agricultural system based on the composition and interrelationships found in natural ecologies. At Flying Disc Ranch, citrus fruits, such as grapefruits and oranges, are grown to complement the dates. The farm is also home to an array of wildlife, including sidewinders, roadrunners, owls, rabbits, bees, falcons, bats, and hawks.

Today, as they have been for thousands of years, dates are enjoyed raw or as an ingredient in sweet and savory dishes the world over. Robert enjoys his dates with cream. I’ve been known to stuff a Barhi inside of a Medjool. However you eat your dates, you won’t be disappointed! Though Flying Disc Ranch is more than 500 miles away from the market, they don't have to make the trek every week--instead their crop is stored locally, cutting down the food miles considerably. Flying Disc Ranch harvests in the fall and into the early days of winter, and their dates are available throughout the year at the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

Robert Lower participated in CUESA's Meet the Famer program in 2007. Click here to download an mp3 of the interview >

Try a recipe for Date Pinwheel Cookies >

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will and won't be attending the market as of Friday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers regularly attend each market, click here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, January 12

In/returning: Hodo Soy Beanery, Allstar Organics, G.L. Alfieri Farms, Tierra Vegetables, Frog Hollow Farm, Happy Girl Kitchen, Andante Dairy, Primavera, Hare Hollow, Marin Sun Farms, Lagier Ranches, June Taylor Co., Devoto Gardens, Rose Pistola, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Hayes St. Grill/Viccolo, Ella Bella Farm, Hog Island Oyster Co., Happy Quail Farms (last day for a while!), Noe Valley Bakery, Cowgirl Creamery, Far West Fungi, Bella Viva Orchards, La Cocina, Bernard Ranches, Capay Canyon Ranch
Out: Downtown Bakery, Chan's Nursery, Knoll Farms, Short Night Farm

Tuesday, January 15

In/returning: Iacopi Farms, Chue's Farm, Alive! Restaurant, Prather Ranch Meat Co., Donna's Tamales, McGinnis Ranch