Great holiday finds at farmers markets

Two farmers markets operate in Santa Rosa on Wednesday morning year-round, and the day before Thanksgiving is always a big day, with more vendors, more offerings and more customers. It’s a lovely way to shop, especially if you arrive early and feel no need to rush.

It’s a good idea to shop at a farmers market first and then fill in what you couldn’t find at a local supermarket, rather than the other way around.

Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, which is held in the west parking lot of the Wells Fargo Center, opens at 8:30 a.m. and wraps up at noon. Highlights include bulk sausage, perfect for stuffing, from Franco’s One World Sausages, and pies - including pecan, bourbon and brown sugar; sweet potato, brown sugar and vanilla custard; and apple - from Dominique’s Sweets.

Costeaux French Bakery will attend with their fresh breads and a big selection of holiday specialties, including pumpkin pie, apple pie, carrot cake and more.

EGB Farms and Armstrong Valley Farm both have pomegranates.

There will be plenty of flowers for holiday bouquets, too.

All the usual vendors will be on hand, with everything from the last of the year’s tomatoes and chilies to potatoes, winter squash, kale, chard, spinach, lettuces, eggs, persimmons, mushrooms and citrus.

Across town in the parking lot of the Veterans Building, the Community Farmers Market, which opens at 9 a.m. and wraps up at noon, will be much larger than on a typical Wednesday.

Roots of Creation Farm will have beets and beautiful purple cauliflower.

Petersen Ranch will have large potatoes, perfect for mashing, that are primarily dry-farmed.

Other highlights include a fresh crop of dates; dinner rolls from Flour Creations; spice blends from Sonoma Spices; eggs, hot sauces and a wide array of produce from Triple T Farms; and a new crop of Mandarin oranges from Leisen’s Bridgeway Farms.

Neufeld Farm will have its usual selection of dried fruits and nuts, along with pomegranates, citrus and both Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons.

Santa Rosa Seafood will have plenty of fresh Dungeness crab.

Physis Foods will be offering their selection of made-on-the-spot stocks and soups.

Ortiz Farms, which always has one of the most diverse selections of fresh produce around, may, fingers crossed, have some of their beautiful holiday wreaths.

Both markets will be open as usual on Saturday.

Saturday also marks both the final Healdsburg Farmers Market of the year and the conclusion of Mary Kelley’s tenure as the market’s manager. Kelley, who has been recovering from a back injury, decided to resign to pursue other projects and spend more time with family.

As of press time, a new manager had not been named.

The market takes place from 9 a.m. to noon one block west of the town plaza.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 17 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.