Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Rains don't deter fans of the Farmers' Market

By Shari Kaplan

Although the weather may sometimes indicate otherwise, winter has proved to be a productive and popular season for the Los Gatos Farmers' Market.

According to Los Gatos Downtown Association board member SuEllen Sterling, who runs the South Bay Farmers' Markets group with co-owner Melanie Defé, this is the first winter season that the market has flourished. Last year was "a real test of endurance," she said, primarily because of constant storms, but also because she and Defé did little to advertise the market's winter presence.

Both farmer participation and customer turnout this year are double that of last winter, Sterling said.

"We had more expectations this year because we really worked with our farmers to have more crops available. Some of them hadn't done year-round markets before," she said, adding that farmers didn't need much persuasion because they saw this as a good opportunity to expand their own markets and bring recognition to their product lines.

"In the grocery stores, you have everything available all the time, so people have lost awareness of what's seasonal to their area," Sterling said. Because some farmers in northern and central areas of California are currently limited by climate constraints, some are expanding their stock with items farmed in Southern California.

Now in her sixth year of attending various farmers' markets, Tri-Weber employee Maxine Giffin of Turlock has noticed that winter markets are quite popular.

"I think people like it because there are a lot of things that are only ripe in the winter," she explained while restacking a table display of juicy navel oranges at the Jan. 28 Farmers' Market. Lemons, brussels sprouts, avocados and Fuji apples are some other popular winter crops, she said. In the summer, the Tri-Weber table changes to include peaches, plums, apricots, raisins and nuts.

Heather Hirschhorn, who works for Linda Arietta's Country Essences of Watsonville, has noticed the season affects not only produce, but people's sleeping patterns as well--the early morning hours are considerably less populated during the winter months.

"It's much nicer this winter, though. I think a lot of people are still coming; there's good turnout. We're here rain or shine, and we always see diehards who come out no matter what to do their shopping," Hirschhorn said.

The hindrance to Country Essences lies not at the Market but in the fields. Because all plants are grown outside--no hothouse flowers here--there is slightly less variety during the colder months. But, Hirschhorn adds, some flowering greenery fares quite well in winter, including anemones, ranunculus and a plant called stock.