If you’re wondering why the asparagus from vendor Zuckerman’s Farm tastes so good, that’s because it’s grown in black delta peat soil. The farm is located about 80 miles away in Stockton, on an ‘island’ in the delta formed by the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers as they flow toward the Bay Area. Peat soil gets deposited from marshes and bogs as rivers run downstream, and is composed from 90% organic material, great for growing veggies! Roscoe Zuckerman is the third generation farmer farming this land, after his grandfather fell in love with the property in the 1920s. Currently, Roscoe and his crew are farming around 1500 acres! Not only do they grow several different varieties and sizes of delicious asparagus, Zuckerman’s Farm also offers many kinds of potatoes (fingerlings, purple, Yukon, red, russets). Zuckerman’s may even be bringing some blueberries and exotic melons (grown by a neighbor) to the market later this year! Visit them at MCM and meet Angie – she loves working for Zuckerman’s so much she came out of retirement to sell their produce at farmers’ markets!
