FAIRFIELD — Solano County’s long heritage as a center for producing fruits and vegetables for the region can be seen in its fine crop of vegetable and produce stands that can be found around Fairfield and Vacaville.
Not only is there a wide selection of such stands open during the summer, but there are also many that are also open all year, offering the best of the high-quality agricultural products that Solano County’s farms and orchards grow.
That’s quite a selection since Solano County produces 80 agricultural commodities, from walnuts to wine.
The best single source of on-farm sales is Solano Grown, a partnership of local farmers and ranchers. It operates the website www.solanogrown.org, which lists the locations and products grown and raised on farms from Winters to Green Valley.
Here are some of the local fruit and produce stands that lovers of fresh produce can visit, some just where you’re able to just drop by and some for which you need to make an appointment:
- Erickson Ranch Produce Stand and Dahlia Garden: 2482 Cordelia Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, late June through early November. Phone: 864-0557. Website: www.ericksonranch.com.
- Larry’s Produce: 4606 Suisun Valley Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, June through December. Phone: 864-8068. Website: www.larrysproduce.com.
- Shooting Star: 5082 Gordon Valley Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: May through November by appointment only. Phone: 207-0548. Website: www.shootingstarcsa.com.
- Cal Yee Farms: 5158 Clayton Road, Fairfield. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday to Sunday, year-round. Phone: 425-5327 or 1-800-225-9337. Website: www.calyee.com.
- Pedrick Produce: 6850 Sievers Road, Dixon. Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m daily. Year-round. Phone: 678-1814.
- Castaneda Brothers Produce: 2875 Rockville Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., July through October. Phone: 495-6944.
- Good Earth Produce: 7335 Oday Road, Vacaville. Hours: Summer, 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., winter, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Phone: 678-5550.
- Saechao Family Farm: 2707 Rockville Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., April through November.
- Solano Mushroom Farm: 5095 Walnut Road, Vacaville. Hours: By appointment. Phone: 365-8021. Email: [email protected].
- The Country Barn: 2678 Rockville Road, Suisun Valley. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., mid-June into July. Phone: 427-1283.
- Vacaville Fruit Co. Inc.: 2055 Cessna Drive, Suite 200, Vacaville. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Phone: 448-5292. Website: www.vacavillefruit.com.
- Gibson Canyon Farm: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, early June through October. 6609 Gibson Canyon Road, Vacaville. Info: www.gibsoncanyonfarmstand.com.
- Aliki’s Produce: Opens in June. Corner of Orchard Avenue and Fruitvale Road, Vacaville.
- Dixon Fruit Market: Open year-round. 7808 Batavia Road, Dixon.
- Elmira Produce: Opens in August. 6083 California Pacific St., Elmira.
- K&J Orchards: Opens in June. 9196 Gaddini Road, Winters.
- Nola’s Fruit and Produce: Opens in May. Cherry Glenn Road, Vacaville.
For more information on local produce stands, farms, ranches and vineyards, go to the Suisun Valley website at www.suisunvalley.com.
Solano County also plays host to a healthy crop of farmers markets from Dixon to Vallejo that offer a wide selection of the county’s produce, from peaches to kettle corn.
Some are available year-round while others will wrap up their seasons in the fall.
The local markets include:
- Fairfield Certified Farmers Market: 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays through Oct. 8. Lawn at Jefferson Street just north of Texas Street. Info.: www.fairfieldmainstreet.com.
- Green Valley Certified Farmers Market: Noon to 4:30 p.m. first Sunday of the month, June through October. Green Valley Road at Vintage Lane. Info: www.gvtotallylocal.org.
- Travis Air Force Base Farmers Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays in June. Travis Bowl parking lot.
- Vacaville Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Oct. 10. Main Street between Parker and Dobbins streets. Info.: www.pcfma.com.
- Rio Vista Certified Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through October. Downtown Rio Vista. Info: www.riovista.org.
- Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Farmers Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, year-round. 975 Sereno Drive. Info.: www.pcfma.com.
- Vallejo Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, year-round. Georgia and Marin streets. Info.: www.pcfma.com.
- Benicia’s Certified Farmers Market: 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Oct. 29. First Street between B and D streets. Info.: www.beniciamainstreet.org.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ithompsondr.
Wow how wrong. Vacaville Reporter even had an article about the wonderful women who ran Aliki’s Produce retiring last February. It is no longer. How many of the rest are even open? Fact checking?? Perhaps at least calling the numbers to verify? I went to Castaneda Brothers during stated hours only to find a shed and not a single person around. And the noncertified farmers markets are the number one source the state board of weights and measures get complaints about because they refuse to post prices so they can charge different people different rates for the same produce.