Two Dates in the Valley

The Studio City farmers market has thrived in the year since it opened, with a mix of produce, flowers, prepared foods and children’s rides.

Last Sunday, John McBride of Leona Valley, festooned in chile attire, displayed 20 varieties of peppers, hot and sweet, including fiery yellow and red Mushroom Squash chiles, similar to rocotillos; fiendish tiny Chiltepins; and McBride’s favorite, little purple Filius Blues. He also sold meaty red Corno di Toro sweet peppers, Jingle Bells (little bell peppers) and Green Grape heirloom cherry tomatoes.

“It’s a hobby that went wild,” said McBride, a landscape specialist for the California Department of Transportation, as his wife, Kim, nodded from their truck with bemused resignation. Their crop is almost finished, but they’ll be at the Santa Clarita market on Sunday.

Another couple from the high desert, Jenny and Richard Youngblood of Littlerock, had Bartlett pears, Red Delicious apples and Fairtime peaches. It may be mid-October, but they’re still harvesting peaches at their elevation.

From the Central Valley, Jerry Windham brought gigantic Shinko Asian pears, tan-skinned and crunchy, weighing up to 2 1/2 pounds. Bryan Nicholas of Orange Cove sold Flavor Rich Pluots, sweet yellow Emerald Beaut plums, pomegranates and five kinds of grapes, all easily available for sampling.

For sweet tooths, Johnny Yanez of Indio offered succulent dates: Deglet Noors, the “Dates of Light,” as they should be but rarely are: truly translucent. He also had large, luscious Medjools. Bernardo Leineweber had wildflower honey from 28 hives in Lakeview Terrace. Scarborough Farms of Ventura County, which sells mostly to restaurants, sold tender baby fennel, frisee, mesclun, radicchio and flavorful heirloom tomatoes: Rose, Jubilee, Great White and Striped German.

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Studio City farmers market, Ventura Place, between Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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On Friday Gov. Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 593, establishing a firm legislative basis for California’s Certified Farmers Markets program and funding its enforcement. After years of growth in the number of farmers markets, the Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees the program, threatened to discontinue it if this bill did not pass, alarming many farmers, market managers and market-goers.

But all is well: The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncans Mills), with the support of Southland Farmers’ Market Assn., takes effect Jan. 1 and runs for five years. It assesses farmers markets a quarterly fee based on the number of participating farmers and pays for a full-time officer to ensure the integrity of the markets.