San Diego Farmers Market Guide
Find out what farmers markets are available in San Diego County Monday through Sunday.
History, Harvest & New Discoveries at the Sikes Adobe Certified Farmers Market
San Diego is America's 8th largest city, and its sixth largest industry is agriculture. These two conflicting statistics allow this beautiful city to retain the suggestion of a small town, and San Diego Farmers Markets are perhaps the greatest force in connecting these two realities.
One of the smaller, yet most intriguing, of the 40 some-odd farmers markets is the North San Diego (Sikes Adobe) Certified Farmers Market.
Every Sunday at 10:30 am, rain or shine, produce tents are set up in the parking lot of the Sikes Adobe Farmstead, which dates back to the 1870s. The small acreages where the produce found here is grown resembles the atmosphere of the traditional kitchen garden of yesteryear.
Kitchen gardens have been an essential part of farming since our country was founded. Large farms grew large volumes of produce (historically, the large crop for the Sikes location was 'white velvet wheat’), while established ‘kitchen gardens’ grew the edible food needed for the family throughout the year.
“Our slogan is ‘Keeping it Small, Keeping it Local and Keeping it Traditional," says Claire Winnick, who co-manages the market with her husband, Ross. They, and all the other farmers connected to this market, are proud of their contributions over the last eight years, which have kept this certified farmers market viable.
Seasonal Produce in Paradise
The produce at this particular market is more seasonally driven than what you’ll find at the larger markets.
The growing conditions of the inland valley have temperatures that range from possible frost during the winter months to summer temperatures capable of exceeding 100 degrees. Consequently, a wide seasonal variety of edible fruits and vegetables fill the market only as they mature. The intimate group of San Pasqual Valley farmers who supply the market enjoy devoting time to one-on-one conversations with customers, openly sharing their knowledge of their products.
In addition to the San Pasqual Valley growing conditions, newer climate changes, water supplies and the constant threat of urban growth and development add to the struggles of the small farmer's lifestyle.
One example of their adaptation to climate change can be seen in the story of the star fruit. It takes several years of a steady climate to establish the fruit’s resistance to even a few hours of frost during the winter, and through years of cultivation, it is a crop often found at Sikes Adobe.
Late winter and early spring produce at this site include citrus fruits and vegetables with enough endurance to produce almost all year around. If you want a preview of the vegetables and fruits that are likely to be on offer when you visit, the market has a harvest calendar available on their website.
The Onsite Farm
Adjacent to the historic farmhouse, you’ll find the Sikes Adobe farm stand, most often manned by Monica Demler, a volunteer at the onsite kitchen gardens. She and Ken Krieger, her garden helper, oversee the pruning of the fruit trees in the spring, the planting of the seeds, weeding, tilling, hoeing, and anything else that needs to be done to making their garden grow.
The water for the two small vegetable gardens inside the Sikes Adobe yard is provided by the windmill, which miraculously survived the 2007 Witch Creek Fire. The outer garden’s water is supplied by city water only after the rains and storage water is depleted.
These kitchen gardens offer a picture of the foods necessary for survival a mere 150 years ago, and are used for educational activities for school children to learn about small gardening and to encourage groups like the Eagle Scouts to participate in projects and assist in the gardens.
Even during the market, Monica sometimes takes children into the garden to let them harvest an item, while offering a quick lesson in the growing process.
Monica cuts (or digs up) and washes the mature products the night before or the morning of the market, so you really can’t get fresher produce.
A Market for New Discoveries
Returning to the market and gardens throughout the year to see the growth and maturing of the plants can be very educational and enlightening. Now that spring is here, the gardens await the pruning of the peach trees, the planting of the seeds and preparing for the season’s growth.
Monica and Ken make garden growing an adventure. “I don’t go to work in the garden, I go to play in the garden,” Ken smiled.
Beyond the familiar produce you’d expect to find at a market, the Sikes Adobe garden also grows lesser known varieties.
A shining example is the vining Loofah Plant. The loofah is a member of the squash family and in the late summer can be cooked like most squash, though if left alone, it will mature, turn hard, and become that handy bath sponge you’d find at the drugstore. Stinging Nettles are another interesting discovery, containing one of the highest vegetable sources of protein, and packed with high levels of minerals and vitamins, the benefits of which are described in detail in educational pamphlets at the vendor booth.
A San Diego Legacy
When you’ve finished your shopping, peek Inside the Sikes Adobe Farmhouse at the original wood stove and try to imagine Great Grandma stoking the fire as automatically as we push the buttons of a microwave today. Back then, bib overalls and aprons were their suits and their baskets of fruits and vegetables were their briefcases. Though the lifestyles have changed, buying our weekly groceries from the men and women growing them, we keep the best parts of our San Diego heritage alive.
Visit the Sikes Adobe Market
Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead
12655 Sunset Drive, Escondido
Sundays, 10:30-3:30pm (rain or shine)
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