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Rob Wells has been cultivating dahlias since early spring. The payoff has arrived.
Wells will be at the Anchorage Farmers Market on Saturday with the first of his dahlia blooms. He expects to have the spectacular flowers through mid-October. Wells has more than 800 plants from 250 varieties in the ground.
"Dahlias continue to amaze me with their vivid colors and individual beauty," Wells says. "The dahlia bloom is shaping up for lots of vibrant flowers in August and September. I have already had a 12-inch flower, and like most crops this summer, it's looking like a banner year.
"I have dahlias from a 2-inch pompom named Odyssey to dinner-plate blooms 10 to 16 inches with names like Akita and Papa Geno. There are so many forms, colors and variations," Wells said.
As The Persistent Farmer, Wells will join the regular lineup of vendors at the Anchorage Farmers Market on Saturday. Highlights from other markets include:
Mountain View Farmers Market: The first-year market will have about 20 vendors lined up Thursday including produce, crafts and food booths.
"If you are on your way out of town after work, we are a quick stop right before the highway to pick up fresh veggies for dinner — even handcrafted ice-cream from The Mint Chip or a chocolate pretzel from West Berlin for dessert," says market manager Caitlin Taylor.
Other highlights this week include the Vang Family Farm with herbs; Fresh International Gardens with greens, turnips and spinach; and the Seldovitch Family Farm with loads of vegetables and freshly made jalapeno jelly.
Spenard Farmers Market: "Our fresh, Alaska-grown produce for this Saturday includes arugula, beets, blossom salad, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, cucumbers, fava beans, garlic, green beans, herbs …," says market manager Andrea Trent before continuing to name a variety of other options.
Food vendors include Linda Lew's Famous Foods, N&P Thai Kitchen, Grandma's Kitchen, Mimi's Kitchen, Napoliello's, A Pie Stop, Fire Island Rustic Bakery, Six Organics, VooDoo Chocolates, Steam Dot Coffee and Zip Kombucha.
South Anchorage Farmers Market: Northern Flowers and Sweet Water Farm return to the market this week with fresh tomatoes. They will be among about 30 vendors.
Other vendors highlights: Rempel Family Farm will have bok choy, baby carrots, green beans, cauliflower, beet greens, herbs, mustards, salad mix and a variety of other vegetables; La Grassa will have multiple pastas including Alaska zucchini and lemon gnocchetti and vegan white bean and Alaska kale ravioli; Rise & Shine Bakery will have levain, spent grain, toasted seed, Alaskan potato chive and fruited almond breads; Sweet Caribou will be featuring its snickerdoodle macaron with a Saigon cinnamon shell and vanilla bean cinnamon ganache, along with passionfruit, chocolate lovers, blood orange and other macaron flavors; and Arctic Choice will have a wide variety of seafood, including sockeye and king salmon, halibut, rockfish and Simpson Bay oysters.
Other vendors include Drool Central, Wild Scoops, Mat-Valley Meats, Joan's Jams and Jellies, Farm 779 and a large number of vegetable and flower booths.
Center Market: The market takes place twice weekly inside the Mall at Sears. A.D. Farm will be there on Saturday with pork cuts; fresh vegetables including carrots, sugar snap and snow peas, broccoli; kale; radishes and greens; eggs; Alaska Sprouts items; and barley products.
Farm 779 will have three options of coconut kefir, turmeric kraut and turmeric kombucha, vegetable ferments and beet kvass; Sweet Caribou has macarons, cupcakes, brownies and Rice Krispy treats; and Duane Clark of Country Health Foods says "the heirloom tomatoes are magnificent and snow apple turnips are a terrific delicious addition to the meal," and he has fresh zucchini relish back at the market. Clark will also be at the Friday Fling and the Muldoon Farmers Market.
Take a tour of Valley farms
Get a taste of Valley farm life with a tour of six farms on Thursday.
The Mat-Su Chapter of the Alaska Farm Bureau will host its seventh annual farm tour in the Matanuska Valley on Thursday. Tickets are $65 and include round-trip transportation from Anchorage to the Valley. Lunch is also included.
"This all-day farm tour is designed specifically to educate Alaskans about where there food comes from," says Margaret Adsit of Alaska Farm Tours. "The Mat-Su Farm Bureau started this tour as a way to educate Alaskan consumers about their food and connect them with the farmers that grow that food."
Farms on tour are: Havemeister Dairy, Kenley's Alaskan Vegetables and Flowers, Spring Creek Farm, Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, Bushes-N-Bunches Vegetable Stand and Grow Palmer.
Call 907-519-7067 or visit alaskafarmit.org for more information.
Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. Contact him at akmarketfresh@gmail.com.
Local farmers markets
Monday in the Valley: Colony Farmers Market, noon-7 p.m., Palmer Depot
Tuesday outside of Anchorage: Eagle River Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., VFW Post parking lot; Farmers Fresh Market, 3-6 p.m., 33955 Community College Drive, Soldotna; Southside Community Farmer's Market, 4-7 p.m., Intercultural Assembly of God, Fairbanks
Wednesday in Anchorage: Center Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Northway Mall Wednesday Market, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Northway Mall; South Anchorage Wednesday Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dimond Center
Wednesday outside of Anchorage: Homer Farmers Market, 2-6 p.m., Ocean Drive near the Washboard; Soldotna Wednesday Market, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Soldotna Creek Park; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks; Wasilla Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Iditapark, Wasilla
Thursday in Anchorage: APU Farmers Market, noon-6 p.m., 4101 University Drive; Mountain View Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., 3543 Mountain View Drive
Thursday in Peters Creek: Peters Creek Farmers Market, 3-8 p.m., American Legion Post 33, 21643 Old Glenn Highway
Friday in the Valley: Friday Fling, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., across from the Visitor's Center
Saturday in Anchorage: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 15th Avenue and Cordova Street; Anchorage Market & Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Third Avenue and E Street; Center Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Muldoon Farmers Market, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Begich Middle School; South Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., O'Malley Sports Center; Spenard Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 2555 Spenard Road
Saturday outside of Anchorage: Homer Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Ocean Drive near the Washboard; Kenai's Saturday Market, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 11471 Kenai Spur Highway; Nenana Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Civic Center on Main Street; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks
Sunday in Anchorage: Anchorage Market & Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Third Avenue and E Street
Sunday in Fairbanks: Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road