Triple T Ranch & Farm sells under a black banner with gold lettering: triple T ranch & farm, organic produce, est. 1983, and a line I like, we grow what we sell. Underneath it says Santa Rosa, Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County.
A table in October
Start at the top and work down. A row of small orange pumpkins runs along the back. Under them are yellow squash, striped zucchini, dark eggplants and winter squash in orange and yellow. In front come the tomatoes: cherry tomatoes in a box, big ribbed red ones, and heirlooms with green shoulders. To the right, baskets of green peppers and boxes of small orange and red ones.
October is the interesting month at a table like this. Summer's last tomatoes and peppers overlap with the first squash and pumpkins, so you can build a dinner out of both seasons at once.
Small signs mark the boxes. One says organic loose tomatoes, and orange tags on several of the pepper baskets say $10. Prices are written where you can see them, which makes a first visit easy.
Reading the tomato boxes
There are three kinds of tomato on the table, and each wants something different. The cherry tomatoes in the box are for snacking and salads. The big ribbed red ones are for slicing. The heirlooms with green shoulders look odd, and that's the point: lumps, cracks near the stem and uneven color are often just the variety.
Whatever you take, keep it on the counter. A cold fridge is where tomatoes go to lose their flavor.
What I took
Tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants. The tomatoes were superb, and the peppers and eggplants kept up. If you only buy one thing here, buy the tomatoes.
Bell peppers keep about a week in the fridge. Eggplant is best roasted until it collapses, and then it needs almost nothing. The winter squash along the back is the long game: hard-skinned squash keeps for weeks, so it's the one thing at the stand you can buy today and cook in November.
If you're planning dinner around the stand, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are the start of a ratatouille, and I'd save the squash for the week after.
The cucumbers and basil I picked up the same morning are in What I Carried Home.
Go before the pumpkins win.