FARMERS MARKETS OFFER FRESH VEGGIES WEEKLY

Vegetable and melon acreages are down this year, but you wouldn't know it by visiting farmers markets and roadside stands in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Nationally, acreages for 13 selected vegetables to be harvested by year's end are about 2 to 5 percent below those of the previous three years, when acreages ranged from 165,000 to 175,000 acres.

Acreage decreased for snap beans, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, sweet corn, escarole or endive, head lettuce, bell peppers and tomatoes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But acreage has increased for cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and eggplant.

The report indicated that cabbage and eggplant showed the largest percent increases. This was evident Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Farmers Market at Plaza Galleria parking lot, where more than a dozen vegetables growers from Missouri and Illinois display their wares each week. A number of the vendors had large heads of cabbage and baskets of eggplant. Also in large numbers were baskets of sweet corn, head lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, blackberries and blueberries.

Although acreages of these products are down, average acreage yields are up

Watermelon and cantaloupe acreages are also down from a year ago, but production is expected to be up, probably making up for less acreage.

"We're looking forward to the melons," said Scott Peters of Bertrand. "They're looking good."

Meanwhile, Gary Holcombe is talking about putting in another crop of vegetables this summer.

"We're late this year," said Holcombe, who raises organically-grown vegetables. "But we probably have time to get in a second crop."

Holcombe and his family -- wife, Jane; son, Alan; and daughter, Ann -- operate the Bosque Ridge Farm, a certified organic produce and flower farm near Patton.

The Holcombes, who were offering cucumbers, green beams, turnips, cabbage, kale and small potatoes, have been growing vegetables organically for 15 years. Last year they obtained certification for the vegetables.

The Holcombes attend the Cape Girardeau market each Thursday. They also participate in farmers markets at Hazelwood in the St. Louis area.

Farmers markets are something special.

There are two in Cape Girardeau and more than 65 officially recognized in Missouri. Unofficially, there are many more when you count all the roadside stands and truck tailgates in Missouri towns where surplus produce from family gardens is sold.

"Shoppers can snatch up some of the freshest produce ever, at the best price," said Marilyn Peters, one of the founders of the market in the Plaza Galleria lot along Independence. "Many customers enjoy shopping here."

Peters, of Cape Girardeau, and her family grow vegetables on a farm in the Bertrand area. She is president and manager of the market.

A second market, the Downtown Farmers Market, sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association, is available to vendors Friday and Saturday at the downtown pavilion in front of Hutson's Furniture.

The Galleria market was designed for vendors who have produced fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. Producers who sell jelly, jams and baked goods must have produced the principal ingredient included in the product, said Peters.

Products there are always in demand and seldom in surplus at the market. There is no middleman. The vendor sets prices. The buying public will let the vendor know if the prices are too high, noted Peters. "They'll pass the stand if they are."

On the other, if prices are too low, consumers will rush the stand like a bargain day in Macy's basement. "They'll clean you out in a hurry," said Peters.

The Galleria market is held each Thursday, May through October, starting at 3 p.m. The downtown market runs from 8 a.m. to noon Friday and Saturday during the same months.

Peters, who also operates a stand at the Galleria market, said: "We have a good variety of vegetables at this time of year. Now we have corn, tomatoes and green beans, and later we'll have watermelons, pumpkins and cantaloupe.

"We've been growing our own vegetables a number of years," said Peters. "We've had a lot of help from our children since we started selling at the farmers market in 1987."

A son, Scott Peters, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with an agriculture major, and his wife, Michelle, also a Southeast Missouri State University graduate, now live near the farm at Bertrand.

"We added 15 additional acres to our operation this year," said Scott Peters. "We now have 35 acres, 20 irrigated. We're also getting into greenhouse operations, too."

Also working in the Peters operation is a daughter, Jennifer, who will be a senior at Southeast Missouri State University this fall. Another son, Christopher, worked in the vegetable operation until he completed college.

"The farmers market has been a major factor in financing the children's college educations," said Mrs. Peters, a schoolteacher here. "The children became interested in growing vegetables at an early age."

The Peters, like many other vendors at Cape Girardeau, also participate in a farmers market in Carbondale, Ill.

"The Carbondale market has been in existence a number of years, and is a much larger market," said Don Menees, a vegetable farmer from Anna, Ill. The Carbondale market is held each Saturday morning in a parking lot along Route 13 in the eastern section of the city.

Menees and his wife, Afton, specialize in potatoes, but also offers a number of vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and blackberries.

Another Illinois vendor participating in the Cape Girardeau and Carbondale markets is Lingle 5 Produce, near Cobden, which offers a variety of fruits -- apples, peaches, raspberries and blueberries.

John Knaup of Knaup Greenhouses along E. Jackson Blvd. joins the Cape Girardeau market in the spring and late fall. Knaup, who was at last week's market, raises flowers and plants.