
Welcome to the Coronado Ferry Landing, home to jaw dropping views and shopping and dining galore. Did you know that the Ferry Landing hosts a weekly Farmers Market, bringing the freshest foods straight to the people? Mary Hillebrecht manages the Coronado Certified Farmers Market and is also a farmer herself.
The Farmers Behind the Weekly Market

Mary gives an insight into what (and who) you can expect when you visit the market on a Tuesday afternoon. “The Venegas Family, they’re about to start their tulip crop. They’ve been off for a little bit. These are mostly all family businesses, and they reshuffle now and then. Our flower guys are in the middle of a reshuffle but they’ve been here since the beginning. Now we’re at the next generation, but the older generation is still around. They always show up with good stuff. Last year, when we had all those horrible storms, one of their greenhouses blew down and they’re still working on that. They persevere, it’s pretty impressive.”
Another generational farming family she points out are the Yasukochis. “The Yasukochi Family Farm has been here almost all along. They are from the Oceanside area. It’s a long-term Japanese family farm that’s grown here for a long time. The older generation went to high school with my dad. And that’s not even the oldest generation.”
Looking for heirloom tomatoes? The Valdivias have you covered. “The Valdivia Farms have been farming here since the ’80s. They’re good farmers, they grow in Carlsbad. Particularly, they’re famous for their heirloom tomatoes. You’ll find them in some of the finest restaurants in the US.”
Of course, there is Mary’s farm as well. “My family’s been there all along. We have The Farm Stand West. It’s in Escondido and we just celebrated farming for 100 years in San Diego last fall.”
What You Can Expect to Find at the Coronado Farmers Market
You won’t find pastries or too much outside of freshly picked offerings at the Coronado market because, as Mary shares, “There are so many things available right at the Ferry Landing and they’re really good.” She has a great point. During your visit, pop in and pick up fresh macarons at Le Parfait and house made olive oil at Coronado Tasting Room.
Mary is proud of the extensive selection the farmers bring to the table every week. “One of the newer farmers is Jacy Farm. They are apple growers from Riverside County. It’s a Korean family and they have good apples, but they also do processing of their products. They have apple chips that are excellent, and their juices are spectacular.”
The Farming Community
Mary relates the community of farmers seeing each other at the market every week to the feeling of farming itself. “Farming is about doing the same thing over and over again. Just the same way you do a good job doing dishes or cooking eggs. It requires a certain skill set and a certain resource base. It’s difficult to do it over and over really well, but these guys really do it so well.” Farming also includes an element that’s out of their control, in particular, nature.
“A few years ago, when the last big fire hit, The Cedar Fire, I had loaded up a truck. I brought my dog with me and all my valuables because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get home. The truck was already loaded for the markets, so I went. I thought if I can’t get home, I could sleep in Coronado because that fire isn’t going to hit there.”
“These are really family based farms,” says Mary. “It might not look perfect, but it’s good. We’ve worked and endured. These are the folks that have tied the knot on the end of the rope and they’ve hung on. They keep coming back. We have customers that are the same way, we love them dearly.”
Ask Questions
Mary emphasizes that the farmers are there for the customers and the community. “We are knowledgeable about what we’re selling. We’re going to hear a lot in the near future about how awful everything is in our food. I’m going to start talking about carcinogens and everything. I want people to look at their whole life and everything that they do in their lives and compare that to the different risks. The things we process are minimal. You won’t find any red dye 3 or 40 or things like that in any of the food. It’s pretty close to growing it yourself.”

She continues, “What we get with local food is what’s grown under California pesticide laws and water laws. One of the examples is we have to quarterly report to a water runoffs administrating group. We have to report any pesticide or fertilizer use and be trained for it as it requires training. California really limits what you can use and there are very few really dangerous things going on the crops. Most of these are either organic or close to it. Our food safety record is unparalleled.”
Farmers Markets are certified by the County Agricultural Commissioner, ensuring that the produce is being sold by the grower, is grown in California, and meets all California quality standards.
Of the certification, Mary says, “I’ll emphasize that again and we stand behind our products. You go into Costco and you buy peaches, can you tell me who that grower was? We’ve been trying to get people to notice who they’re buying from. I know some of my customers by name and have watched their kids grow up.”
This Year’s Crops
This year’s dryer weather has affected the market. Mary shares, “With no rain, it’s been more expensive to grow things. Although there are some crops that benefit from not having rain. One of them being strawberries, which is one of our major crops here in San Diego County. We usually have at least two farmers selling really good strawberries. Also, flowers do pretty well. You have to water them, but you don’t have to battle some of the diseases they get when it’s really humid or rainy.”
Visit the Ferry Landing on Tuesdays
You can follow Coronado Certified Farmers Market on Facebook where Mary regularly posts updates about weather, what’s in season, and what great items you can look forward to.
The Farmers Market takes place Tuesday afternoons from 2:30 until 6 pm at the Coronado Ferry Landing near at the compass at First and B.
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Coronado Certified Farmers Market – Serving Up Fresh Produce & More Since 1991