Pedersen, who looks like a pot-bellied Ned Flanders, is the quintessential urban farmer. "This is all pretty darn unplanned," he tells me, but the extra income from the sale of his pies and raspberries helps supplement his social security checks. Pedersen calls himself a "compost militant": he uses coffee grounds, leaves he sweeps up from his own street, and ones he gets from the street cleaners who work nearby Telegraph Avenue. "All I have to do is sort out the condoms and needles," he says.
There are two raspberry seasons: in spring, between March and June, and again in July until sometime in October, though this year's cool summer should extend the fall harvest. Pedersen sells berries to Yasai Produce Market on College Avenue in Rockridge, and to a baker who calls herself the Cake Lady, who incorporates them into scones. The raspberry ones are available Fridays at Remedy Coffee (4316 Telegraph, at 43rd St.) in Temescal.
Pedersen's raspberries are small and delicate, in the way even farmers' market berries usually aren't. The taste: musky rose perfume hovering above a bright lemon acidity. And the pies? The Frog Hollow peach specimen we tried was delicious, with fruit that'd rendered into a sweet, golden pomade, in a sturdy lattice crust on the edge of yielding.
Avonova Farms: Sunday mornings in front of 417 Avon (at Shafter), Oakland.
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