330536 Mon Oct 02 00:06:32 -0700 2006 10 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 1915298 Some of you may recognize the name, Valley End Farm, as one of the suppliers to Planet Organics. On Friday afternoon I stopped by its farm stand on the east side of Petaluma Hill Road, just north of Rohnert Park Expressway and south of Crane Ranch. Not having been on the stretch of road for a while, I didn't know it was here and pulled over while driving by. It's not much of a stand, actually, just a couple rickety tables and an ancient scale under a tattered plastic canopy. And there's no sign identifying it, only a few handwritten lists of produce on torn-apart cardboard boxes out on the road. While it may not look like much, what is impressive is the freshness of the produce. The Crane melons are incredibly fragrant even outdoors in the breeze. I tried a sample and bought three for the weekend. The heirloom tomatoes smell wonderful too. And you can't help but appreciate the fact it's grown right here and workers pick a few zucchini, for example, at a time to replenish the display. Can't get any fresher than that. Besides the melons, nothing's too exotic, but what is rare is the pricing. Everything's a buck a pound, and garlic is 50¢ a head. Yes, Brandywine tomatoes for $1/lb. I had asked the young woman manning the stand to pick out three melons for me to consume over three days. She did a good job of judging ripeness. The elephant garlic is super juicy and fresh, and has much more intensity than other large clove types I've tried before. I sauteed some of the summer squashes with the garlic for lunch today and they carmelized at low heat in the pan, I guess from higher sugar content than usual. Again, nothing fancy, just good, fresh and easy on the budget. Image of produce display (upper) and close-up of Crane melons (lower) - http://static.flickr.com/81/255956767_90a4ef1bd5_o.jpg Mon Oct 02 00:06:32 -0700 2006 10039 Melanie Wong 1 1920866 This sounds fab and I would love to stop by, but am new to the area and have no idea where I should go. Can you give a lost gal a clue and guide me there from 101? Sorry for the pedestrian question. (Note to self, buy a map.) Wed Oct 04 02:57:09 -0700 2006 1915298 43697 miss louella 1 1920979 Here's a link to google's map for the intersection of Petaluma Hill Road and Rohnert Park Expressway. Rohnert Park Expressway is an exit off 101, then go east until you hit Petaluma Hill Road. If you're going to be doing much driving in that area, you'll want to know Petaluma Hill Road because it runs north-south from Penngrove (just east of Petaluma's northern edge) up to Santa Rosa and is a great alternate route when traffic on 101 is congested. At the south end in Penngrove you've got Full Circle Baking Company and on the north end, the Santa Rosa neighborhood where it ends has Lola's supermercado, and a couple Thai-Lao grocers. http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Petaluma+Hill+Road+And+Rohnert+Park+Expressway,+santa+rosa,+CA Here's more about Crane Melons - http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/39367 Wed Oct 04 04:00:13 -0700 2006 1915298 10039 Melanie Wong 1 1933214 Well, I'm happy to report that I found the Valley End farm stand and the produce was just as fresh as promised. (This time they offered to go pick more beets if we needed more.) I love a place where they'll pick to order. Equally impressive was the willingness to discard produce that was past its prime; as we walked up they were tossing wrinkled cukes into the field and--right after I'd chosen the yellow summer squash over the not-snappy-fresh green--they started tossing the wilty zukes to reveal fresher ones below. Prices have inched up: heirloom tomatoes are now a whopping $1.50 a pound and various cherry and grape tomatoes were $2 a basket. Beets were two bucks a bunch. And the best news is that they're planning to be right there year round. Every day from 8:30-6. Mon Oct 09 19:32:20 -0700 2006 1915298 43697 miss louella 2 1934428 Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! And, thanks for asking about the hours. I wonder what they'll be offering in the winter. Oh, and if you're around there again, when I drove up from napa taking Adobe Road, I noticed a farm called something like Green Strings with a sign that it was open Friday-Monday. I didn't have time to stop, maybe someone else will check it out before I can. Tue Oct 10 02:43:17 -0700 2006 1933214 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2022837 On my last visit (this past weekend) to Valley End farm stand I found a few changes: --cute yellow signs with animated veggies pointing the way --prices were up (and not posted)--$1.50 a pound for eight ball zuccs, chiles sold one by one as opposed to by the pound, etc.; ask --hours are 10A to 6P (they said to head back to the house if no one was at the stand, but I probably wouldn't do that) One thing that hasn't changed: the produce is exceptionally fresh and the people really want you to try everything. (After saying I wasn't a fan of yellow beans, the woman running the stand put a couple of handfuls of yellows in with my greens; I was appreciative, but still prefer the green beans.) As I recall, they had beets, still some heirloom tomatoes, roma tomatoes, three different types of cherry-type tomatoes, fresh garlic, 8-ball zuccs, regular zuccs, chiles de agua (?), green and yellow beans, and were anticipating arugula soon. Wed Nov 15 05:01:58 -0800 2006 1915298 43697 miss louella 1 2132923 Yes, Greenstrings has beautiful veggies and fruit. Very nice people working there who are knowledgable about the produce they grow. Thu Dec 28 02:23:12 -0800 2006 1915298 55542 drmimi 2 2132935 Still open now during the winter? Thu Dec 28 02:26:11 -0800 2006 2132923 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2135536 Still open during the winter! Signs up are for broccoli and cauliflower. Looking forward to the spring as they had wonderful veggies this fall. Fri Dec 29 00:54:11 -0800 2006 1915298 55542 drmimi 2 2447330 Have you been to Greenstrings recently? What's available in spring time? Tue Apr 03 14:21:52 -0700 2007 2135536 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2834659 Stopped by here this afternoon and bought some organic calabacitas for $1 per pound. Boxes of very ripe tomatoes . . . good for sauce . . . on markdown. I asked about Crane melons. The young woman wasn't sure what variety but said they'd have melons starting in the next week or so. Remember that last year the crane melons that appeared in August in some stores were from TEXAS, not Sonoma County. So be sure to check the source before buying. Fri Aug 10 17:23:54 -0700 2007 1915298 10039 Melanie Wong