COSTA MESA : Marketing Approach Still Fresh

Wally Melzer can tell you when one of his avocados will be ripe by simply holding it in his hand. After 15 years as an organic grower with about 6,000 trees near Temecula, Melzer knows his avocados.

He slivered off bite-sized pieces, handing them to customers who came to pick over the best fruits and vegetables at the Costa Mesa Certified Farmers Market in the main parking lot of the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Every Thursday for the past 10 years, farmers and vendors have brought produce that usually is picked that day or the day before and sell much of it at lower prices than in grocery stores, said Mary Lou Lorenzini, who runs the market.

“The farmers come from as far as Imperial Valley and Vista and some people have been coming every week. You’ll find a real family atmosphere here,� she said. “Our strawberries, when they’re picked in Irvine at 7 o’clock, are sold here at 9 o’clock.�

The market celebrated its birthday with balloons, a raffle of fresh herb and fruit baskets, and entertainment by costumed Peruvian musicians.

Juanita Zamora and her family have been selling a variety of vegetables at the Farmers Market “almost since it started,� she said. The family’s stand, filled with produce picked the day before from their 50-acre farm in Vista, offered cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes.

“It’s better for everybody because these were picked yesterday so they’re really fresh. The fresher they are the better they are for the people, and it’s better for us too because selling to the markets brings in less money,� Zamora said.

Using a stroller as her shopping cart, Nina Leontiev bought bags of baby lettuce, dill, basil, cilantro, parsley and loaves of fresh Italian bread. The Irvine resident said she has shopped at the market every Thursday for the past four years.

“It’s like a country fair atmosphere,� she said. She pointed to a stand that had fresh loaves of bread that she said reminded her of a bakery she frequented when she lived in Brazil 20 years ago.

At another stand, Suzanne Morlock decorated two tables with bunches of dried flowers and colorful tablecloths. She was selling fresh basil, salad greens, eggplants, squash and flowers grown in her back yard in Costa Mesa.

“We’re probably unique in that we aren’t a farm,� said the environmental landscape designer who graduated from college just as the recession hit and had to come up with “creative� ideas to supplement her income.

Back at Melzer’s stand, customers were implored not to squeeze the avocados.

“Hey, this isn’t Vons, this isn’t Ralph’s. I’ll do that for you,� Melzer says. He explains that squeezing, even gently, will produce dark spots where the fingers have pressed in. And spots don’t go over well with him. “You want a nice smooth texture,� he said. “No ugly spots.�