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The Sweet Union Farm booth at the Klamath Falls Farmers Market, which is open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.
John and MaryAnn Anderson of Sweet Union Farm have a booth at the Klamath Falls Farmers Market.Take a walk through the farmers market this weekend or step onto a local farm and you’ll see an abundance of fresh, beautiful produce. Fall is a special time of year in the Klamath Basin, when the weather is starting to cool and farmers are hard at work harvesting the fruits of their labor. In the summer we enjoyed sweet berries and ripe tomatoes, but now is the time to pick festive pumpkins, eat tasty squash and crisp apples.
At their farmers market booth, Sweet Union Farm always has an array of vegetables to choose from: salad mix, edible flowers, unique potato varieties, garlic, carrots and more. I recently had the pleasure of volunteering at the farm and helping Katie Swanson, owner of Sweet Union Farm, and her crew harvest winter squash and colorful pumpkins, which will be available at the farmers market starting Sept. 30. They will have everything from tiny pumpkins that make festive decorations to large orange pumpkins that are the perfect canvas for carving a jack o’lantern. You’ll also be able to purchase different varieties of winter squash, such as red kuri, candy roaster, winter sweet, delicata and spaghetti. One of Katie’s favorite ways to enjoy winter squash is simply chopping them up and roasting them in the oven, but there are many other fun, delicious ways to eat them!
Katie Swanson is also the co-founder of Klamath Grown, a local nonprofit food hub that operates an online farmers market. Scroll through klamathgrown.org/market to find locally grown produce, meat, raw honey, eggs and more. Sweet Union Farm’s products are available for purchase on the online market, along with Maranatha Farm, another local farm with an abundance of produce available now.
Maranatha Farm is owned and operated by John and MaryAnn Anderson. They have been selling produce to farmers markets for the past 25 years in Northern California and the Southern Oregon Coast, but have recently settled in Klamath Falls and are dedicated sellers at the farmers market. Their booth is always bursting with fresh produce and surrounded by an eager crowd. One of their specialities is melons and if you stop by their booth, you will see why. They grow a wide variety of melons, including Galia, watermelon, musk and crenshaw. John and MaryAnn also grow delicious sweet corn, onions and soon will have plenty of pumpkins available!
I have also had the pleasure of visiting John and MaryAnn’s farm, which is full of rows and rows of produce. They take great pride in growing delicious produce that they know people love to eat and enjoy making meaningful connections with their customers.
The Klamath Falls Farmers market is open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, located on 9th Street between Main Streeet and Klamath Avenue downtown. Next time you’re there, be sure to stop by Sweet Union Farm and Maranatha Farm’s booths to connect with the farmers and pick up some delicious seasonal produce, even if it’s something you’ve ever tried before! I also highly recommend getting there early, so you can stock up on what you want before it sells out.
Meet more local farmers and find out where to buy their products on our local food directory: klamathgrown.org/eat-local
This article first appeared on Herald and News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.