Renewing America’s Food Traditions with Gary Nabhan and Ashley Rood ~ April 29

Gary Paul Nabhan's book Renewing America's Food Traditions is based on the premise that our diverse food heritage is a treasure, and that eaters play a vital role in keeping it alive. The book, a journey across our continent’s 13 distinct "food nations," details endangered foods and brings them to life with cultural histories, photographs, and recipes. In this conversation with contributing writer Ashley Rood, Nabhan will offer tales of renewal from the book, discuss biodiversity in California, and remind us how our food choices make a difference. The event is from 6 to 8:30 pm, and ends with a tasting of heritage foods from the market. Buy a ticket ($10) >  

Best of the Bay reception ~ tomorrow night

Mingle with market managers from New York, New Orleans, London, Barcelona, Seoul and elsewhere while enjoying the best food and drink the Bay Area has to offer. This tasting event will spotlight local restaurants and chefs, farmers’ market vendors, wineries and breweries. It coincides with Project for Public Spaces’ 7th International Public Markets Conference, a conference that brings together over 200 of the world’s best market operators. This year, the conference is being co-hosted by CUESA and the Ferry Building Marketplace. Tickets are $75. Learn more >

Our Annual Spring Breakfast
by the Bay ~ June 6

Delight in spring's abundance and the people who bring it to us each week as you dine on breakfast prepared by Hayes Street Grill and CUESA's market chef. Farmers and food artisans will be at the table to share stories about the food they grow and make.  By joining us, you help keep our cooking programs free, our farm tours affordable, and expand our reach in promoting a sustainable food system. Learn more >

Hands-on artisanal cocktail class ~ May 16

Learn to make 2 spring drinks with acclaimed bartender and author Scott Beattie, and hear about small batch distilling from Lou Bustamante of St. George Spirits and Hangar One Vodka. Scott will personally instruct each guest on techniques including side recipes, garnishes, foams, rim sugars and salts. Drinks will feature Hangar One vodka and fresh, seasonal fruit from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Scott's book, Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus, will also be available for sale. Buy tickets >

Open Garden and Plant Sale ~ April 26

After a 10-year hiatus, Flatland's garden sale is back. Market vendor Flatland Flower Farm will be offering tomatoes, peppers, herbs & unusual perennials on Sunday, April 26 from 10:30 - 3:30 at their farm in Sebastopol. Contact Flatland for more info >

Berkeley Farmers Market, partner in change

Great minds think alike, and great minds are sick and tired of plastic bags. Beginning this week, a month before the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market does away with plastic bags, the Berkeley Farmers Market is making the switch. Drop by any of the three Berkeley markets to celebrate this important sea change; if you forget to bring reusable produce bags, the farmers will have compostable BioBags for sale for a quarter. The Berkeley Market is also the first in the nation to go beyond plastic bags and ban plastic packaging. Hooray!

Saturday, April 25 ~ Spring Festival

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Matt Elias & Leslie Peng, Eccolo

9:30 am - 1:00 pm Edible gardening booth
Local garden designer Maria Finn. Maria will also have strawberry starts available for kids to plant (while supplies last). See feature below.

Tuesday, April 28 ~ Food Wise Booth

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef, will be giving out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients. She'll also be available to offer advice on all your seasonal meal planning.

Saturday, May 2 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Sascha Weiss, The Plant Café

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Steve Scarabisio, Scoma's Restaurant

All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

This Saturday, in celebration of Earth Day, Maria Finn will be onsite at the market to talk about planting edibles in urban areas. We spoke with her recently about some tricks of the trade.

CUESA: What are the biggest challenges gardeners face in the Bay Area?
Maria Finn: SF is tricky – it’s full of probably a hundred different microclimates. So it’s about finding what variety will grow in your area. I’m on the hunt for the perfect San Francisco tomato (I’ve heard there’s one that does fine in cool, foggy climates) in time for Saturday’s demo. Even fig trees are finicky. If you’re in a cool, foggy place you’re going to want to use a Desert King or Osborne Prolific. Some of the others, like the Panache or Mission varieties are going to prefer a hotter, sunnier climate.

CUESA: How much food can urban residents reasonably expect to produce?
MF: It depends on how much space and time you have. The two easiest things to grow are lettuce and herbs. With two five-gallon buckets, you can grow as many lettuces as a family can eat. And with a couple of window boxes, you can grow as many herbs as you’ll need.

Beyond that, it’s just a matter of how much you get into it. You can espalier an apple or pear tree against your terrace and graft 6 different kinds of fruit onto it, for instance [Espalier is a technique used to grow trees in small spaces; it involves pruning and training a tree’s branches so they grow along a single plane]. Different varieties fruit at different points in the season, so if you have more than one variety you may end up with less fruit all at once, but you can spread out your growing season.

CUESA: How should gardeners choose what to grow vs. what to buy?
MF: Sites like FoodNews.org tell you which [conventionally grown] fruits and veggies have the most pesticides on them, so that’s a good place to start. Then it’s just a matter of knowing what you like.

If you have one of those 70-hour-a-week tech jobs, maybe start with a fig tree, and keep it simple. Because gardens do require care. And I tell people that if you’re over the age of 30, it counts as exercise; you burn around 300 calories an hour gardening.

CUESA: Why do you think we’re seeing such a renaissance of backyard gardening?
MF: I think we have kind of a perfect storm going on.  For one, it’s a recession, so people are looking to save money on food. On top of it, everyone’s more interested in local and organic food. The [edibles] are also becoming more accessible. Every Home Depot and small gardening center – they all carry this stuff. My brother in Texas told me recently that even the Sam’s Club in his area had kiwi, raspberries and blackberry vines for sale.

CUESA: What is the role of trial and error?
MF: It’s just part of gardening. Some years your cilantro’s going to do great, other years it’s going to shrivel up and die and it’s not you. Maybe you have a cold spring, maybe you have a warm spring. I tell people, it’s just light and it's water and it's having the plants in the right place…but it can also be mysterious.

CUESA: What else have you learned as a gardener?
MF: I’ve learned to appreciate process. And life and death. When you’re gardening, you see beauty where you wouldn’t normally see it.

When I install gardens for people, they’re always happy. Clients hug me and send me pictures – it’s really a wonderful feeling to get to bring this to people. Just going outside to water the garden, seeing a hummingbird or even sitting out there at night…these things can bring joy to your life in a way that very few other things can do.

Find Maria Finn at a booth in the South Driveway (across from Roli Roti) this Saturday from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm. Read more about Maria Finn's work through her company Prospect and Refuge.

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, April 25

In/Returning: Critical Edge Knife sharpening
Out: Tory Farm, Apple Farm

Tuesday, April 28

no changes

Plentiful /returning this month (weather willing): Torpedo onions, chicories, cabbage, Stockton red onions, fresh goat cheese, English peas, rhubarb, basil, raspberries, squash blossoms, dandelion greens, fresh bay leaves, miners' lettuce, hot house tomatoes and cucumbers, spinach, asparagus, avocados, pastured goat, green garlic, spring onions, kumquats, nettles, broccoli, rapini greens, artichokes, baby turnips, carrots, strawberries, mizuna, radishes and radish greens, fava beans, pastured eggs, baby beets, Belgian endive

Winding down/limited supply: Brussels sprouts, tulips, citrus, lilacs, hyacinth

Farms/vendors that may be returning this month (weather willing): Happy Quail Farms, Balakian Farms, Lucero Organic Farms

Value added and vendor items not to be missed:
Tallow soap from Marin Sun Farms, Japanese maples from Rainbow Mountain, Natilla from Bodega and Yerba Santa Goat Cheese

Featured recipes for April:
Spring Greens Puree with Homemade Sourdough Crackers from Jessica Prentice, Wise Food Ways

Asparagus Salad with Charred Onion Vinaigrette, Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Burrata, Wild Arugula and Speck from Jamie Lauren, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

Chicken with Arugula, Artichokes and Natural Pan Juice from Keith Hammerich, Culinary Arts Instructor, City College San Francisco

Cocktail ~ La Fragola from Jon Gasparini, Rye