Harvest Festival ~ October 25

Celebrate the harvest the old fashioned way! From 10 am - 1 pm, a dozen apple varieties will be set out for you to taste. From 10 am - 2 pm, stop by to see how easy it is to turn cream into sweet butter, and try the freshest apple juice you’ve ever had, made with local apples, our hand-crank cider press, and your own elbow grease. There will also be demonstrations of spinning and weaving with organic cotton, and a cornucopia of fall farm goodies.

Waste Wise Farmers' Market Handbook now available online

Six months after the launch of our Waste Wise Program, CUESA now diverts 90% of the waste generated at the markets away from our local landfill. As a shopper, you’ve probably been encouraged to compost and recycle at our volunteer-staffed Waste Wise Stations. Now, you can read all about the process behind this initiative (and get the tools to implement a similar program of your own) with our in-depth Waste Wise Farmers’ Market Handbook. Download the guide here >

CCOF's 3rd Annual Organic Beer and Wine Tasting ~ October 24

Ferry Building food vendors will pair with California Certified Organic Farmers' Nonprofit Programs (CCOF) certified vintners and brewers to offer sample snacks and beverages. Prices: 25 for 10 tastes or $15 for 5 tastes, which includes a commemorative wine glass. A portion of the proceeds go to support CUESA. Learn more or buy tickets >

Millennium Supper at Tierra Vegetables ~ October 26

Travel to Santa Rosa for a five-course family style vegan supper prepared by the chefs at Millennium Restaurant featuring the best produce from Tierra Vegetables & other very small neighboring farms. Arrive early to participate in a farm tour with veggie picking, hay rides and pumpkin carving. The meal includes local wine provided by Preston Vineyards. Learn more or buy tickets >

100 Mile Thanksgiving Tasting ~ November 14

Support local farmers and the environment at the 100-Mile Thanksgiving Tasting. Try an abundance of holiday-themed autumn dishes using organic and locally grown food prepared by Chef Tod Nysether and the Palo Alto-based Valley of Heart’s Delight. Learn more here >

Waste Wise volunteers are needed every Tuesday and Saturday at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. E-mail ashleigh@cuesa.org for details

Saturday, October 18 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am - Meet the farmer
Ana Catalán, Catalán Family Farm

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Staffan Terje, Perbacco

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
David Tanis, author of A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

Saturday, October 25 ~ Harvest Festival

10 am to 2 pm - apple pressing and butter churning (outdoors) and spinning and weaving demonstrations (in the Ferry Building).

10 am to 1 pm - apple tasting (south driveway near Eatwell farm)

10:30 am - Meet the producer

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
John Toulze, co-author of the girl & the fig cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Acclaimed California Wine Country Restaurant

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

Autumn has been a busy season for CUESA farm tours. Here's what we've learned:

Massa Organics
Growing rice without herbicide is not easy. Just ask Greg Massa Raquel Krach. Organic rice fields yield half as much of the grain and require extensive weed control, achieved by flooding and draining the fields. And, due to a recent rise in the price of conventional rice, organic rice is no longer more profitable, so many farmers in the Sacramento Delta are reverting to conventional practices. But or Greg and Raquel, however, the principles of land stewardship and sustainability are worth the sacrifice.
See more Massa photos here >

Woodleaf Farm
Carl Rosato is a master of polyculture. When a whole year's worth of his well-loved stone fruit was lost to a late frost, the farmer was quick on his feet; he took out several rows of fruit trees, planted tomatoes and other row crops and hoped for the best. While at Woodleaf, a group of curious urbanites wandered through Carl's orchards learning about everything from soil chemistry to the benefits of solar power and an on-farm bamboo patch.
See photos of Woodleaf farm here >
See a video of Carl and his farm produced by a tour participant >

Happy Quail Farms
Happy Quail Farms is a unique oasis among the suburbs of East Palo Alto. Farmer David Winsberg and his wife Karin bought their house in 1990 in a neighborhood that was originally set up to support small-scale farming operations in one-acre back yards. They built a giant greenhouse on their own lot and lease other yards nearby. In the combined two acres, they grow an abundance of peppers, cucumbers, squash and rhubarb and raise around 80 chickens. Property values have since skyrocketed and they are the last remaining commercial farmers among their neighbors.
See more photos here >
See a related blog entry by tour participant Marcus Rector here >


Alemany Farm
You may have driven by Alemany Farm hundreds of times without seeing it. Tucked beneath the roar of Highway 280 along a hillside sloping up to Bernal Heights, this four-acre spot is San Francisco’s largest farm. Manager Jason Mark, youth from the adjacent Alemany housing community, and a team of volunteers have created a beautiful food-producing haven on this site originally established by the now-defunct San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners. Alemany Farm not only generates fresh, affordable produce for the surrounding community, it also creates meaningful jobs for youth and opportunities for urban residents to engage with the natural environment.
See more photos here>


Green Gulch Farm
Green Gulch Farm Manager Sarah Tashker was generous enough to give CUESA volunteers an in-depth tour on her day off. She explained the workings of this small non-profit farm, which, located in a gorgeous valley 16 miles north of the city, is the closest farm that sells in our market. Sarah explained Green Gulch 's organic practices and Salmon-Safe certification and how, as part of the San Francisco Zen Center, the farm is an ideal place to integrate Buddhist philosophy into food production.
See photos of the tour here >

To add your own photos from these tours to the CUESA Flickr groups, use this link>

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, October 18

In/returning: Bernard Ranches, Glashoff Farms,
Madison Growers (last week for the season)
Out: Short Night, G & S Corn (out for the season) Ella Bella (goodbye!)

Tuesday, October 21

In: Redwood Hill Farm
Out: Blossom Bluff, Frog Hollow (for the season)

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing): Mushrooms, almonds, persimmons, pomegranates, jujubes, pears, dates, apples, squash, artichokes, carrots, frisée, lemongrass, walnuts, Valencia oranges, radishes, muscat grapes, strawberries, pumpkins, broccoli, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, romanesco, cucumbers, peppers, wheat, onions, lettuces, pastured pork, tomatoes, marigolds, potatoes, wax beans, shelling beans and Romano beans, radicchio, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, root vegetables, celery, kale, sunchokes, cabbage

Winding down/limited supply: Cucumbers, peas, nectarines, peaches, pluots, plums, figs, quince, okra, corn, eggplant, blackberries, melons, basil

Seasonal vendor items not to be missed: Sour cherries in Kirsch syrup from June Taylor, chorizo sausage from Fatted Calf, cilantro chutney from Sukhi’s, spelt and corn meal pizza shells from Viccolo Pizza, dry-farmed tomatoes packed with basil and peppercorns from Happy Girl Kitchen

Featured Recipes for October:

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote
from Sondra Bernstein, The Girl & The Fig

Milk Braised Marin Sun Pork Shoulder with Cabbage and Polenta
from Staffan Terje, Perbacco Ristorante and Bar

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Cocktail ~ Apples to Oranges
from Lou Bustamante, Hangar One Vodka