Santa Cruz County farmers' markets open another bountiful season

Happy Boy, meet Dirty Girl.

Actually, they already know each other.

Happy Boy Farm and Dirty Girl Farm, both located in Watsonville, have begun their weekly truck rides into the Santa Cruz Mountains, bringing the lush produce from their cool coastal fields to the warm mountain valleys.

If the first day turnout at the Felton Farmers' Market was any indication, the mountain folks are very appreciative of the nearby farms.

As long as they are organic, of course. The 16 farms that returned to the parking lot of St. John’s Catholic Church on Highway 9 in Felton on May 4 are all California Certified Organic Farmers. The farm-fresh organic produce also is a staple at the other Santa Cruz Mountains farmers’ market, in Scotts Valley.

• The Scotts Valley Farmers’ Market operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at the Scotts Valley Community Center, at the end of Kings Village Drive, off Mount Hermon Road.
• The Felton Farmers’ Market operates from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday in the parking lot of St. John's Catholic Church, at HIghway 9 and Russell Avenue.

Some of the other farm names are as colorful as their veggies: Live Earth, Green Planet and Hog farms.

The farms’ family names are tradition-rich and exemplify the immigrant diversity of California agriculture: Kasiwasi, Stackhouse, Rodoni, Wilson, Schletewitz, Gonzales, Jurevich, Vasquez and Shumei. One of the mountains’ premier wineries, Zayante Vineyards, brings its special label to the Felton market.

Organizers estimated that the first-day crowd in Felton was bigger than last year.

The longest line on the warm spring day was for the shaved ice, from Cupertino. A highlight of the Felton market’s 23rd-season opening day? Free strawberry shortcake.

By the way, if you want to know the origin of the “dirty girl” name, click here. Click these links for more information about the farmers’ markets in Santa Cruz County, and about California organic farms.