I have a certain love for farms, and whenever the opportunity comes along to visit a local farm I…read moretry my best to take on that opportunity. I had the honor of visiting with Kristyn Leach and the Namu Gaji Farm several months ago. In case you're wondering about the name the Namu Gaji Farm provides fresh organic vegetables exclusively to the San Francisco restaurant Namu Gaji, but there's more to this story than that. Kristyn Leach is a native South Korean who as in infant was adopted by an Irish American family in New York. She was introduced to farming when she got involved in an urban community garden while attending college. Her interest grew and upon relocating to Washington state she began planting her own perilla. Perilla more commonly known as Japanese shiso is an essential herb in Korean cooking. When Kristyn moved to California she took on the task of managing a lettuce farm where she continued to grow her own perilla. She found work as a cook at Oakland's Camino Restaurant, and it was there where the chef introduced her to the Lee brothers of Namu Gaji. One of the brothers, David, was actively seeking a supplier of organic Korean perilla for their restaurant. Kristyn told us she had never met anyone who was so passionate about the herb. Their collaboration began there as Kristyn agreed to farm Asian vegetables for the Lee brothers. The Sunol AgPark located in Alameda County is a collaborative farm community owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission managed by a third party (SAGE) and shared by several farms who lease the land on an annual basis. It was there where Kristyn found an acre of available farmland to start the Namu Gaji Farm. Through her own studies she learned of traditional techniques of Korean peasant farming as well as New Age holistic farming. She combines ancient techniques as well as new ones on her farm. Unlike other farms she welcomes wildlife creating a natural habitat for birds and fosters specific insects and micro-organisms to provide nutrients in her soil. Bad insects are warded off by natural means as well. Sustainability is key on the Namu Gaji Farm. Kristyn does not till her soil and does all of her farming by hand. Her soil contains twice the organic matter as required by organic standards. She has even concocted her own fertilizer using kelp. Her annual water use is 50,000 gallons which is half of what the other farms on the Sunol AgPark use (between 100,000 to 140,000 according to a SAGE representative on our tour). Upon taking a walk through her farm everything just looked wild unlike any farm I've toured before. Because it was pouring rain on the day of our visit I kept the photo-taking to a minimum. On the farm she grows two types of peppers for Namu Gaji in addition to Korean melons, Kabocha squash, several types of radishes, burdock, Napa cabbage for kimchi and Korean soybeans. Today she grows more vegetables than the restaurant can use so she has created a CSA specifically for domestic abuse victims through the organization KACEDA (Korean American Coalition to End Domestic Abuse). She harvests her crops 3 times a week (twice for Namu Gaji and once for the CSA). At the conclusion of our tour we were treated to a delicious lunch (http://bit.ly/2bf2mVZ) cooked by Namu Gaji and incorporating perilla, soybeans, cabbage, daikon and leafy greens all grown on the farm. Interested individuals were also offered seedlings to start their own vegetable gardens.

Accidentally hit the review button and now yelp is badgering me to finish my review. I was…read moreresearching CSAs in the area for our family. I read the only other review and I was very impressed by the history of the farm and it's cultivators. I am also impressed that extra food grown is donated to a worthy cause. I you ever need a volunteer I would be interested.

Volunteered through my company at Veggielution!…read more The farm box packing event started right on time at 9:30am. I appreciated how Veggielution has posted videos showing how and where to enter the property. Staff explained the instructions thoroughly and handed out gloves. It was a hot day so I was thankful that the event was under a shed and the food packing itself was straightforward and not very strenuous. We filled the boxes with fruits and vegetables assembly line style and then stacked them all up. With our big group, we finished packing 725 produce boxes in about 90 minutes. Some of us also helped remove weeds around the shed using hands + shovels. At the end, one of the employees gave us a guided tour of the farm which was super fun! He talked about the different events they host - on Saturdays there is a Farmer's Market and youth garden for little kids. The farm is huge, so it was cool to look around and learn about their farming practices. Also learned that they offer low-cost fruits and vegetables to the community! Staff was very friendly and efficient! They provided us with all the necessary tools. There were some leftover fruits and vegetables, and volunteers were allowed to take them home which was super nice! Overall, I would definitely volunteer at Veggielution again. Their website is up to date with helpful information which makes the whole volunteer process very easy to navigate. They also host interesting community events that I would recommend checking out!

Did a volunteer event here and I absolutely fell in love with the livelihood of this cut place. The…read moreteam working there were really nice as friendly, they offered different activities too! I saw a Zumba class at the end of my volunteer shift. There's also kids garden where kids get to experience gardening. Btw, the Veggielution is in the back of the parking lot, so just keep driving to the back until you see more chickens and farm stand.

We love this farmers market at the mall parking lot. Located near the Jack's restaurant area this…read morefarmers market is every Sunday and has some great pastries, produce, plants, and kettle corn! We have had great service from free samples, kind staff, short wait times, and FRESH food. We come here often and always recommend this for its size and consistency of vendors. It's a great use of the parking lot space and offers plenty of parking nearby. I can totally see how they could also expand if they wanted to considering the mall parking lot is huge. Also great location being so close to Costco at the mall to get all your errands done in the same outing.

In my opinion, the best-ish farmers market in the east bay. Multiple and varied vendors. Lots of…read moreveggies, fruits, baked goods...Generally utilizes Apple Pay/card payments throughout. Clean up commonly occurs around 1pm with sales happening after 12pm. Lots of parking as it's located at once a vibrant mall. Minus 1 star dude to rude af folks; whether that's customers or vendors. For example, most of the time there isn't someone regulating the samples so folks' fingers are dabbing in there aka hecka gross and throwing the tongs back in the bin with no care in the world.

The DTSJ farmers market is back! It's been moved to the Hammer Theater Plaza right near SJSU. I…read morework super close by so this has become my new Wednesday routine. It's open from 9am-1:30pm and has hot food, fruits/veggies and even wellness options. They have music playing and they have a really cool frequent buyer stamp card that once you fill it up, you get $25 to spend in the market. I wish there were more vendors or maybe roaring vendors. It's pretty much the same ones every week so at a certain point there isn't anything really new to see.

Honestly, I'd give this place 3 to 4 stars. It's not amazing, and it's definitely smaller than most…read morefarmers markets--limited vendors, not a ton of food options--but I still appreciate that it exists. The fact that it's downtown on a weekday near my job makes it really convenient, and I respect the effort to revitalize the area. It's not the best, but it's a nice midweek option if you're nearby. Support small businesses!

I love getting my weekly fresh farm produce and bouquet! I enjoy visiting the farm and seeing acres…read moreof organic, delicious veggies and flowers. Its a beautiful! Thank you Happy Acre Farm!!!

From the owner: Happy Acre Farm is a family-owned and operated 2.5 acre farm in Sunol, CA. We grow veggies, olives…read moreand flowers year round without the use of any chemicals, just lots of hard work and integrity. We operate a CSA, farm stand, and sell to local restaurants. Our olives are grown on a scenic 10 acre grove in Livermore California, and pressed down the road.

Byron is a little salty and really funny! We finally got our noble fir tree a bit late in the…read moreseason - and at a great price! Thank you emerald tree farm for the great trees.

Great experience highly recommend Very nice Christmas if…read moreyou want a beautiful tree go here

Ce Patli was a pleasant surprise at the Campbell Farmer's mkt. Their chocolate has unmistakeable…read moresigns of being handmade and bean-to-bar, and the tamales were so good that I had to come back for a second one. Plenty of vegetarian tamale options (nopales, butternut squash, spicy beans). Bonus: their packaging was all natural and plastic-free, so it can go right into compost!

Ce Patli is an authentic, delicious, flesh and soul nourishing version of Mexican food staples…read more Ce Patli is antithetical to the modern, transgenic, neoliberal, socio-economic-environmentally destructive mutant of corn that is now unfortunately the basis for Mexican food in Mexico and abroad. You don't have to be vegan, vegetarian or plant based to try and enjoy this Mexican food that won't give you metabolic syndrome. Ditch maseca and all of the GMO preservative filled tortillas at markets and your body and taste buds will thank you. Sin Maíz No Hay País!

Awful. I saw one of their truck drivers cut off a car forcing them into traffic, narrowly missing…read morean accident. I wonder what their CSA score is.