Local Produce

Local Produce

Can you heft a 105-pound cabbage? Ever seen a 942-pound pumpkin? Produce gets big in South Central Alaska, as those two state records suggest. There are about 900 commercial vegetable farms in the state, reaping annual revenues of about $52 million. Growing seasons in South Central are short but intense, and vegetables soak up the long hours of summertime daylight to grow enormous. Still, seeing is believing, and each week between June and September, Anchorage hosts two open-air markets featuring such vegetables.

Each Saturday between 9 AM and 2 PM, farmers from outlying areas set up shop in the Anchorage Daily News parking lot in East Anchorage. The Northway Mall Wednesday Market is open in East Anchorage Wednesdays between 11 AM and 5 PM. The biggest produce is saved for show in the annual Alaska State Fair in Palmer. At these markets, you'll meet Alaskan farmers with a little Valley soil under their fingernails, and stories of life on the Last Frontier under their belts.