FRESH FROM THE FARM
A monthly column on sustainable agriculture, humane husbandry & artisanal food production
Originally published in Northside San Francisco September 2006
Lucero Organic Farms
Ben Lucero has been farming organically since before it was cool. As a teenager, he tended a garden with his brother in their back yard, and by the late 1960’s he was selling organic squash and lemon cucumbers from a stand in Santa Cruz. It was impossible to make a living in organics back then, but lucky for us, Ben didn’t give up. When the farmer’s market movement took off twenty years later, opening up a direct grower-to-consumer link, he found his niche and has been farming ever since.
Today Ben and his wife, Karen, grow organic fruits and vegetables in Lodi. They’re big fans of heirloom varieties, which come from old-fashioned seeds and yield produce that looks and tastes different from the regular garden variety. The Luceros love a diverse crop, and this year alone they planted 12 types of eggplant, 14 kinds of squashes, 20 varieties of sweet and hot peppers and a mind-blowing 60 types of tomatoes, including Brandywines, Early Girls, Green Zebras and their own hybrid called Ben’s Ivory Pear.
From March through early December, their stand is a familiar sight at farmer’s markets all over the Bay Area. There are purple tomatillos, yellow polka-dotted watermelons and sweet peppers with romantic-sounding names like Black Hungarian, Chinese Giant and the Matador. To find the Luceros, just look for the sequined strawberries that hang from their tent.
The Goods – Organic produce including strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, melons and cucumbers. Many are hard-to-find heirloom varieties.
The Markets – Weekly farmer’s markets in San Francisco (Ferry Plaza), Berkeley, Oakland and Menlo Park.
Fun Fact – Karen started out as a loyal Lucero customer. Before long she was lending a hand on the farm, where she met Ben, and the rest is history.
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