Anchorage Daily News

When the sun comes out, so do the crops in the Valley -- just in time for farmers to show them off at the state fair. Maybe they won't be the giant ones that win the prizes, but the eating will be good.

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Mark Rempel, who farms out by the Butte, said he's getting tomatoes and several kinds of winter squash: spaghetti, stripetti and a few red kuri, buttercup and sugar pumpkin.

He'll have those at Northway Mall today and at the South Anchorage Farmers Market on Saturday.

You'll also find six kinds of potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and greens.

Rempel has so much cabbage he's offering a recipe for sauerkraut lovers.

"One and a half teaspoons of salt per pound of finely sliced cabbage, aged for five weeks at 70 degrees, stirred once a week, and then slip it into bags and into the freezer when you like the taste! We use a 5-gallon bucket with clean plastic bag liner and a double-bagged bag of water on top to keep it clean."

Alex Davis, who will join Rempel at the Northway and South Anchorage markets, says he has good quantities of cabbage, broccoli and lettuce. Shoppers will also find carrots, sugar snap peas, snow peas, fava beans, three kinds of peppers, cauliflower, kohlrabi, vine-ripened tomatoes, four kinds of beets, bunched greens, homemade jellies and goat cheese.

Corn and cucumbers

Shop early if you want some of Mark Dinkel's corn.

Dinkel, who farms off Fairview Loop near Wasilla, will be at Northway Mall today and the downtown Saturday Market on Third Avenue. He will also be at the Wasilla market today.

He has small quantities of corn plus zucchini, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers and lots of potatoes.

Over at Arctic Organics near the Butte, Sarah and River Bean's list of crops is growing. They will be at the Anchorage Farmers Market at 15th Avenue and Cordova Street on Saturday with baby carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, green and red cabbage, broccoli heads and sideshoots, Snow Apple turnips with greens, kohlrabi and three kinds of radishes.

Greens include collards, broccoli raab, mustard, four kinds of kale, watercress, beet, rainbow chard, spinach, arugula, lettuces, tat soi, Chinese cabbage, dandelion greens, escarole, radicchio, sorrel and nasturtium blossoms.

They have several kinds of herbs: Genovese, lemon and anise basil; dill; Italian and curly parsley; thyme; oregano; sage; lovage; marjoram; chervil; and epazote.

Crops they're not sure about because of gray and rainy skies are brussels sprouts, potatoes, full-sized carrots and storage cabbages.

Valley shoppers can buy produce at the Beans' home stand from 5 to 7 p.m. Fridays at 1305 N. Smith Road, just south of the Mt. View RV Park in Palmer. Call 1-907-746-1087 for information or directions.

Find T.C. Mitchell online at adn.com/contact/tcmitchell or call 1-907-352-6716.

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