If you love the Farmers Markets then you certainly enjoy Saturday at the farm at the University of California Hansen Agricultural Center in Santa Paula.
We spent a crisp, clear Saturday picking lettuce, tomatoes, corn, beets, celery, carrots, persimmons and pumpkins....
...all for free. In 1993 Thelma Hansen, the daughter of a local farming family, endowed a generous portion of her estate to the University of California to support research and education programs benefiting the ocmmunity and sustaining agriculture in Ventura County. Utilizing the UC Thelma Hansen Fund, the historic 27 acre Faulkner Farm was purchased in 1997 establishing the UC Hansen Agricultural Center, a research and extension facility.
Ventura's rich farmland provides an abundance of crops for all of us to enjoy. The top ten for 2010; strawberries, celery, nursery stock, lemons, raspberries, avocados, tomatoes, flowers, bell peppers and Valencia oranges. People who want to consume most of their food from local sources stand a better chance of succeeding in Ventura County then almost any other place you can name.
The University of California Hansen Agricultural Center is located at Briggs and Telegraph. They provide the bags, you do the picking. There is also a cooking demonstration (Saturday was persimmons) and a tour of the historical Faulkner House. Take the 126, exit at Briggs and take a left to the entrance. Watch the local paper for the next Saturday at the Farm date or contact them (805) 525-9293. You'll be glad you did.
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