The day before Thanksgiving at the Santa Monica farmers market

For Nate Peitso, Thanksgiving begins in July. The farmer and owner behind Maggie’s Farm planted eleven acres of sage on his Fillmore property late last summer. On Wednesday he will sell most of it within six hours.

The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for the Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market, and farmers come prepared.

“We sell the equivalent of what we would sell in one week in one day,” says Peitso, who spent the weekend harvesting, cleaning and bunching herbs in preparation for tomorrow’s market. “It’s pretty outrageous. We can’t sell this volume of herbs all year long. It’s only once a year that we have this surge.” So every fall he dedicates acreage to growing rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory and sage specifically for Thanksgiving shoppers.

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The Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market is one of the most popular and prosperous markets in Los Angeles County — the inaugural market opened on a Wednesday in July in 1981, three years after California Certified Farmers Markets were established. Over 30 years later, the market is still going strong, and the day before Thanksgiving is the high-water mark.

In the late 1980s, Skyline Flower Growers set a market record for gross sales. While she won’t share specific numbers, Market Manager Laura Avery says their record remains unsurpassed. “They literally ran out of flowers by 10 a.m.,” she remembers. “They had to call the farm and tell them to pack another truck.”

Shoppers flood the market, armed with totes and shopping lists, many of them meeting people they know — it’s that kind of neighborhood market. “It’s just in the air,” says Avery. “Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s festive.”

Beyond flowers and herbs, growers are anticipating the demand for holiday classics, such as green beans, Brussels sprouts and root vegetables.

Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms plans to triple his load of fingerling potatoes; farmer Oliver Woolley says his Peads and Barnetts stand will be fully stocked with Frenched racks of pork, cured hams and leaf lard for pie crusts. Wednesday will be the first market of the season for macadamia grower Jim Russell from Fallbrook.

While the increased activity is a welcome spike, post-holiday markets tend to be slower. For many farmers, the uptick in sales balances below-average market attendance on the Saturday and Sunday after the holiday. (The downtown Santa Monica market is traditionally closed the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but the Saturday Pico market will be open.) Growers also often find themselves heading back to their farms in holiday traffic at the market’s close.

Avery remembers one year of total gridlock when a farmer got out of her car and started selling products on the Grapevine. “She was just walking up and down the highway selling cider,” says Avery.

In keeping with tradition, the market will open early Wednesday morning. Shopping will begin as soon as the city of Santa Monica has barricaded Arizona Avenue and 2nd Street; Avery hopes to have the streets closed by 7:45 a.m. Judging from last year, the entire market will likely be mobbed by 9 a.m., so maybe get an early start if you can.

Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Arizona Ave. and 2nd Street, Santa Monica, (310) 458-8712, www.smgov.net.

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