Market season wrapping up

Wrapping up this week are the South Anchorage Farmers Market and the Anchorage Farmers Market. Also open this week is the Center Market -- both today and Saturday. After this weekend, that market moves inside at the Mall at Sears.

The chilly weather will impact what's available at some markets.

"This has been an amazing autumn so far," says Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics and the Anchorage Farmers Market. "The crops we have planned for this weekend are either very frost tolerant, already in storage or growing in the greenhouse. There's still quite a selection. The only thing slowing us down is the imminent freeze-up."

Arctic Organics will have late plantings of both arugula and field cress from the greenhouse. Also new will be a late planting of scallions. Also planned for this week are four varieties of kale, collards, chard, mustard greens, tomatoes and peppers. They also will have bulk carrots and potatoes for those who want to store crops.

Other items include leeks, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, beets, onions and some herbs.

Rob Wells will be at the market with dahlia blooms, sunflowers, red and green tomatoes, and Matanuska Creamery products. He also will be at today's Center Market.

Vern Stockwell says "recent frosts are really starting to sweeten up the vegetables." He will be at the Anchorage Farmers Market, South Anchorage Farmers Market, Center Market and at the Northway Mall parking lot. While the market officially ended last week, Stockwell says he will continue to sell produce there "as long as the weather holds out."

Stockwell plans to have leeks, spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, beets, carrots, onions and several varieties of potatoes at the markets. He also will have Alaska barley-fed beef and pork.

Also at Saturday's South Anchorage Farmers Market will be VanderWeele Farms with lettuces, greens, carrots, squash, chard and potatoes; Rempel Family Farm with parsnips, sugar pumpkins, celery, carrots, potatoes, snow apple turnips and other items; Earthworks Farm with honey, potatoes, and jellies; Lewis Farm will have a large variety of potatoes with sale prices; Southfork will have raspberry, currant and cranberry jams; Arctic Choice will have a large seafood selection, including salmon, halibut, cod, rockfish, sablefish and shrimp; Matanuska Creamery will have butter, ice cream and cheeses; and NonEssentials will have a large selection of Alaska-made products.

"Only two more outside markets to brave the morning cold," says Alex Davis of A.D. Farm and the Center Market. "Harvest has gone so well that we had to create overflow storage for carrots."

Among his products at this week's markets are those tasty carrots (in four colors), cabbage, four varieties of beets, potatoes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, pasture-raised pork items, including chops, steaks, roasts and sausages.

Duane Clark will also be at the market with grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, Alaska seafood and local raw honey.

Aside from the markets, some greenhouses are still up and running, including Mile 5.2 Greenhouse in Eagle River. Dale Walberg has plenty of potted herbs including bay leaf, caraway, chives, lemon grass, lemon verbena, parsley, rosemary and sage. There also is a large selection of peppers in 6-inch pots, including ancho, Anaheim, habanero, jalapeno and Thai dragon. Fruit-producing plants include lemon, lime and grapefruit trees. They also have 4-foot tall banana trees that should produce fruit in two years.

Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. If you have a suggestion for a future Market Fresh column, please contact him at sedwards@adn.com.

TODAY: Center Market, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Northway Mall Market, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Northway Mall parking lot

SATURDAY: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 15th and Cordova in the Central Lutheran Church parking lot; Center Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; South Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Subway/Cellular One Sports Center at the corner of Old Seward Highway and O'Malley Road