Pacheco Pass Farmer's Market is a great stop in Gilroy! We loved looking at all the fun things…read morearound the market and had a hoot trying the vanilla and chocolate garlic ice cream. Of course it's not my #1 choice in flavored ice cream, but well worth the try at least once! Don was superb, having us guess songs for a free honey sucker stick, which made the time there even more fun. Overall, this was a great experience that I recommend to everyone and anyone to enjoy!

Good stopping point in Gilroy area for garlic ice cream and local produce. This time of the year -…read morecorn was very reasonably priced, other times of year it's likely other produce. Rest of the produce is slightly higher priced than grocery stores - but it's very fresh and super tasty probably because it never had to hit a cold storage. Restrooms are very clean and owners are very pleasant to speak with.

Living in California, you might not know where a lot of cities and towns are, given that it's the…read moresize of four or five states if you are east of the Mississippi. Well, it's always easy for me to find this farm's bounty in going to the Ferry Farmers' market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They started participating in the market about two years ago and, at first, I mainly only bought strawberries (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=JO1Cnr4pkcFCVEEfFkGKYA&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) from them. Over the past eighteen months, I've become an avid fan of their vegetables especially their cauliflower (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=gC_FKh5f_f7M2Gj7ZbUB4A&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q), cabbage, broccoli, and broccolini. I generally cook them within the week to preserve their freshness in flavors and textures, after all they are organic. And, when tomatoes are back in season, check whether they offer their self made salsas. They have become one of my weekly and sometimes twice weekly shopping stops at the Ferry Building. Do look for their stand by the main building entrance on the north side on Tuesdays and along the south driveway at Saturdays.

Green Thumb Organics is truly the best CSA that Central California and the Greater Bay Area has to…read moreoffer (and we have experienced several). Once we found Green Thumb Organics we never looked back and have been with them for years. They have provided us with a yummy, healthy, beautiful, environmentally friendly bounty of food over the past few years and we have loved all of the spectacular fare that their hard work has prepared. Maria and Rudy are the kindest most hardworking and thoughtful people you will ever encounter. Their adversity and hard work is impressive having helped them adapt and persevere through some extremely difficult situations including the COVID shutdown and the recent floods. Rudy, himself, not only works the farm, but every week drives hundreds of miles and delivers his hard work with a beautiful, heartfelt smile on his face - always. Maria answers every email and addresses every question or ordering platform navigation challenges that one may run into. Their homemade salsa and marinara are scrumptiously spectacular! I literally buy 5 jars of salsa at a time every couple of weeks. Their prices are very low for what you receive. This is the last CSA you will ever need. Stop shopping and sign up with them. You'll feel better supporting a local, small business while being economical and environmental, helping you and/or your family's physical and mental health.

Happy Boy Farms brought a mix of Fruit & Vegetables to the Fort Mason Farmers Market San Francisco…read more Beets, Squash, Greens, Potatoes, Melons, etc and yes Fennel! I love Fennel cooked and in salads. The bounty of Monterey was represented. For over 20 years Happy Boy Farms has been growing organically.

Happy is not adjectivally-accurate enough to describe how I feel. I'm ecstatic! The green miracle…read moreworkers at Happy Boy Farms are tremendously good at what they do, which is to turn out year-round, organic and ultra-fresh vegetables, herbs, and leafy yumminess from their farms in Watsonville and the Gilroy and Soquel areas. Their mesclun and lettuce mixes ($5/lb bag or loose) are really exceptional and typically last all week long. The tomato and melon offerings in the summer are great, and the autumn stuff, like squash, radishes, kale, chard, etc. are also go-to picks for us. The fresh herbs are lovely and cost around $1.25 for a decently-sized bunch. We also get their fennel to slice it razor-thin in our mandolin or toss it in vegetable soups spiked with brown miso paste. Great stuff! The Happy Boy crew also won the San Mateo Halloween costume contest this year, which was a lot of fun. Saturday mornings at the College of San Mateo parking lot is the hottest ticket in town!

I've walked by their Saturday Ferry Farmers market stand, most times located along the south…read moredriveway. Their stand is across the Wise Sons, Bini's Kitchen, Mangosay, and Farmer's Wife stands. They have mainly a variety of vegetables and tomatoes. I've bought cabbage, heirloom tomatoes when in season, and cauliflower from them. Heck, they even have purple cauliflower if your timing is right. Recently, I started buying their salsas since it's my current craving, best eaten watching sports (especially football these days, Go Niners!). I opened my bottle of their salsa (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=chl0CMVW9F5KsLAFjjv1Zg&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) and finished almost half of it in one sitting. It was mildly spicy but smooth with strands of tomato to make it more interesting. Let's just say, I made a point to get another one the following Saturday. I happened to but a head of cabbage which was light in weight but was enough for two stir fry servings for our family of four. Will stop here again at the Ferry Building on Saturday and see what veggies I may get for our Sunday dinner. I also need to check out their other salsa flavors.

OYA Organic Farm brought their crops to the Clement Street Farmers Market San Francisco…read more From their CCOF Organic fields located in Hollister where they grow over 50 crops, and today we got to experience part of their offerings. From Basil Plants to Heirloom Tomatoes & Vibrant Peppers and so much more, yes the crops looked so good.

I was super fortunate to visit this farm a few months ago to get a behind the scenes look at how…read morecertain produce is processed and shipped to our local area. If you are into this type of thing, this is a stop for you. I traveled with my husbae and alongside a group of others were able to check out this farm... the broccoli, lettuce... If you are interested call them up to see if they offer tours for those not affiliated with the business. The agriculture field is one that takes a lot of work and so much goes into it. All I do is go to the local grocery store, check out the product then decide to buy, but visiting this site gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation on what it all takes to have that $1 or $5 product purchased by me... then consumed at home. The folks here were passionate about their daily routines and the love for this work was evident by those I came in contact during this visit. Some have been with the company for over 20 years!! Now that's love and dedication in my eyes! A great tour! Check them out if you can! Have fun and enjoy life :)

I purchased a package of their Green Leaf Lettuce several weeks ago. I am very impressed at how…read morewell it has kept in the frig! Still looks fresh and tastes great after 2 weeks. The packaging seems to have made a big difference. It's in a "clam shell-like" container with a self seal top on it. I will definitely look for this product again, and buy it! Thank you, Church Brothers Farms.

I love supporting local shops and buying from farmers' markets, but this Barn Fresh Produce is more…read moreof a roadside "catfish" with its giant colorful wooden signs and enticing promotional promises. I've stopped by before to buy fruit, which was okay (ie, small), but this time, I walked inside the building. Holy toledo, Batman, the products were coated under thick layers of dust and had mouse traps tucked in-between and underneath! There were boxes and cleaning supplies strewn about, and animals lying around the food. I was afraid I'd spot a tail hanging out of a hole or see something run by my feet based on how many traps were in the store. There may not be any sure proof way to keep pests out of indoor-outdoor markets, but they can at least keep the place cleaner and more organized, like not leave cleaning supplies right next to the food. I was also surprised that the prices were steep for what looked like products that haven't been moved in a long time. Barn Fresh Produce is not worth the stop for me, but if you are dying for fruit, I'd stick to the ones kept outside and make sure to wash it well before consuming.

Wonderful fresh selection! I have been going to Barn Fresh for many years and it is wonderful!read more

We saw signs and had to make a pit stop for local fresh strawberries! They also have a selection of…read morefresh produce as well!

Peter Piper picked a peck of purple peppers…read more Wait? What did Peter Piper pick? Purple peppers? I kid you not! Okay, maybe it wasn't Peter Piper who picked them, but he could have had he visited the Nunez Farm. It's a fact that purple bell peppers have been around since the mid-80's, but this was the first time I've ever walked upon rows upon rows of them in a field. The purple bell peppers are just one of the crops being harvested at Guillebaldo Nunez' vegetable farm in Watsonville. Artichokes Basil Bell Peppers (Green) Broccoli Butter Lettuce Cabbage (Green) Carrots Celery Collard Greens Fennel Heirloom Tomatoes Kale (Green) Leeks Pink Swiss Chard Potatoes Purple Kale Puple Thai Basil Rainbow Swiss Chard Red Beets Red Cabbage Red Lettuce Swiss Chard White Corn Yellow Swiss Chard Zucchini That's just a fraction of the crops being grown on the Nunez Farm, and it's all organic! That's right! Pesticide and chemical free! When our bus driver missed his turn Guillebaldo jumped into his truck and drove out to the main road to escort our bus into his farm. We were there for the last stop on on our education-filled farm tour. The Nunez Farm is incredible in size, and all of the crops are sold in farmers markets throughout Northern California and at Whole Foods stores under the brand "ALBA Organics". Guillebaldo walked us out to his fields to show us the rainbow of Swiss chards that he has planted. Green, orange, yellow, red, pink - just a variety of colors. I had never seen the yellow ones before and I was fascinated by them. On the same field were green and purple kale. I'd never had kale before and sampled some right there as a leaf was pulled off a plant and passed around to sample. We learned about the nutritious aspect of the kale as well as planting techniques and even ways to cook them. On the opposite side of the field were rows upon row of gigantic heirloom tomatoes hanging on thin sturdy vines. We were told that the fruits had just been picked that morning, but Guillebaldo told us that if we found any other ripe ones in there we were welcomed to pick it. Some of our group got really lucky when Guillebaldo found a whole plant unpicked. I missed out as I had stopped to take photos of big green tomatoes. To the opposite side of the tomato crops was a huge eye opener as we saw a gigantic color-filled farm that seemed to stretch forever. Guillebaldo gave us a quick rundown of all of his crops back there and offered to pick whatever our group requested. His generous offer turned up big red beets, ripe artichoke and handfuls upon handfuls of traditional green and Thai purple basil. The hit of the farm was the beautiful purple bell peppers. Guillebaldo said these were a first-time crop for him and he welcomed us onto the field to pick our own. He cracked one open, broke it into several pieces and passed it around for us to sample. The meat is slightly thinner than that of a green bell pepper, but these were so much sweeter. I might have missed out on the tomatoes but no way did I miss out on these. Time wasn't on our side; otherwise, we might have walked off with a lot more fresh produce than we did. A big thanks goes to Guillebaldo Nunez for opening up his farm to us. I'll be looking for that ALBA brand next time I'm shopping for organics. Where are the photos? Right here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/26-2milesandmore/sets/72157621625559039/

The farm in Salinas makes savory pot pies on Tuesdays! I ordered the chicken and bacon pot pie last…read moreweek to guarantee one, but they said they make some extra ones for same-day pickup. $32.95 for all pies, which I think is a great deal! They do fruit pies on Fridays! And great customer service!! ‍

We have always loved the farm. When I was still working in the office before the pandemic, one of…read moreus would go over there and get pies on the day they made them fresh for the entire floor at work. It was so delicious. Have gone there years for their amazing gift shop. The nostalgic toy area is so fun to look through but all the other things they have in the back room are beautifully displayed and reasonably priced. Very excellent fresh veggies, and other condiments that they have for sale. But the pies are off the Chart. The fruit pies are well worth the 25 or so dollars they cost they're huge. They're deep dish they're fresh the delicious the large size pot pies are amazing but I love it when I can get the miniatures for $7.95 for one. They are just adorable. They heat up well and they taste delicious. All around really beautiful place. If you go at the end of the summer, they have all you can pick flower days for like five dollars for all the flowers you could pick and they're absolutely beautiful they have tours for little kids and at Halloween they have beautiful pumpkins that you can go out and pick yourself for an amazing experience and memory with your kids.