What a timely topic for me to have just discovered. I have the good fortune to live in Santa Cruz, which has about 30% more organic farms than Fresno, though we are smaller in area and population by about a third. I think that means we probably have more organic (not to mention sustainable, equally important) farms than any county in the United States. It is truly a paradise here, and Santa Cruz county farmers supply produce to some of the biggest name chefs in the region (and some to restaurants much farther away).

There are two major farmers markets year-round:

Wednesday afternoons (2:30-6:30 PM) in downtown Santa Cruz, at the parking lot at Lincoln and Cedar.

Saturday mornings (8 AM - Noon) at Cabrillo College on Soquel Drive in Aptos, at the"Upper Campus," just south of the Park Blvd. exit. This is my favorite market of the week, as it's not quite the hippie/patchouli fest that the downtown market is, but I do like them both. Favorite booths: Bill the Oyster Man ($10 for a dozen oysters as big as a dog's tongue; he's at both of these markets, as well as the Sunday market in downtown Los Gatos, over the hill towards Silicon Valley), Live Earth Farm, New Natives (oh, I love pea shoots!), Dirty Girl Farm, Happy Boy Farm, Route One Farm, and the best chai I've ever had at Malabar Trading Company (only on Saturdays at Cabrillo).

We have a number of markets open May through October as well, including a Thursday afternoon market in the heart of Capitola village, a block from the ocean. There is also a sweet little market with some of my favorite farms on Sunday mornings in East Cliff Village (15th and Portola Drive).

Tuesdays and Fridays, the UCSC Farm & Garden has a market at the corner of Bay and High streets, at the base of the UCSC campus.

I just last week started a photography/written blog about small farms, starting in Santa Cruz but branching out. I love farms and farmers markets. I'll be traveling to New York next month, visiting some farms around there, and then to England this summer, though visiting farms is not my primary reason for travel.

It's a labor of love, completely. SmallFarmsBlog.com is the address that will take you to the Typepad site. Please feel free to send me your own links to things related to small farms: I'm starting on a modest scale but intend to be a resource for people who care about these things. I am a professional food photographer with some chefs and restaurants as clients, and I know one thing: behind every good chef is at least one great farmer. The farms are just so beautiful.

A list of farmers markets all around Santa Cruz, down to Monterey, Salinas, etc.

Great topic: thanks for posting!