IF YOU GROW IT they will come, especially if it's fresh, juicy, crunchy, fragrant, or ripe. Growers are once again beginning to showcase their flourishing yields of locally grown fruits and veggies and setting up stalls at farmers' markets in parks and parking lots around the North Bay. It's a movable feast of greens, squash, berries, peaches, herbs, and much more that signifies the arrival of warm weather, frosty drinks, sizzling barbecued veggies, and cool salads. Each local farmers' market has its own particular character. In some instances, the markets are more akin to community meeting places, with the addition of live music and arts and crafts exhibitions.
Some markets hold cooking demonstrations and samplings.
And many farmers are becoming savvy about the value of the personal touch and are offering customers recipes, information, and the occasional story about their produce. So, for a change, forsake that squeaky warped-wheeled wire cart and instead select a woven basket and troll the stalls at the nearest farmers' market. Here's what's going on locally, according to the latest information from the California Federation of Certified Farmers' Markets. Civic Center, Hwy. Look, smell, touch, and try to sample and compare produce at different stalls before you purchase anything.