GET THER EARLY: VENDORS' GOODS GO QUICKLY

The Cape Girardeau Farmers' Market opened at 3 p.m. Thursday, and by 3:40 Bonnie Newcomb had sold all of her rhubarb.

Although it is open in Plaza Galeria parking lot every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., shoppers who want the best produce need to get there early.

By 4, Ann O'Donnell and Alan Brant had sold out of garlic scallions, but they still had a few bunches of spinach.

The other seven vendors had green onions, radishes, greenhouse tomatoes, Mennonite baked goods, herbs in flats and cut flowers.

When the growing season gets in full swing, expect to find crowds of shoppers buying fresh lettuce, corn, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, peaches and melons. But don't expect much when close to 7 o'clock.

This is the market's 11th year. It runs once a week from the first Thursday in May to the last Thursday in October. Every vendor either grows or bakes their own goods, said Marilyn Peters, president of the market. She sold radishes and green onions on Thursday.

Like many of the vendors, Peters sells produce at the larger market in Carbondale, Ill., on Saturdays.

A teacher at St. Vincent's School in Cape Girardeau, Peters lives on 20 acres near Bertrand. She started selling produce as a way of giving her children an opportunity to make money without working in a fast-food restaurant. Now her children are grown, but she looks forward to her once-a-week excursion standing behind a folding table under an umbrella to sell vegetables and chat with the regulars.

One of the regulars is Sue Watkins. "It's about the only place around here you can get home-grown produce," she said.

Another regular is Jean Lincoln. "I never miss it," Lincoln said. In the winter "I miss the fresh vegetables."

Lincoln was one of those who bought rhubarb from Newcomb. She said she uses it to make a sauce to put on her yogurt.

Newcomb, who farms near Cobden, Ill., dispenses cooking advice with the rhubarb.

"I put a little water in my pan, then a little bit of sugar and stand there and stir it," she said.

Kristy Friedrich sells herbs and perennials in flats. She sells most of them wholesale to stores around the area, but still likes to come to the market to sell them.

"I come here and I can see what people like," she said.

Gene Dillow sold cut flowers at the market Thursday. Later in the year he'll have peppers, cucumbers and eggplant.

"A person does it because he likes it," he said about farming and selling at markets. "You can make a lot more money doing other things."