ORGANIC FOOD MISSING FROM FARMERS MARKETS

Homegrown? Yes.

Organically grown? No.

For the first time in some years, produce shoppers who want to go a step beyond homegrown may have difficulty in obtaining organically grown vegetables.

Over the past five years, the Holcombe family offered a special variety of cucumbers, green beans, cabbage, kale, small potatoes and other vegetables at the weekly farmers market held on the parking lot of Plaza Galleria in the 2000 block of Independence.

The Holcombes -- Gary and wife Jane, their son Alan and daughter Anne -- operated a certified organic produce and flower farm near Patton and sold their vegetables at farmers markets in Cape Girardeau and Hazelwood.

The Holcombes are in Bolivia this year.

"They're on a church mission," said James Landreth, a Cobden, Ill., vegetable grower who provides produce for the weekly market here. Landreth's market stand has been next to Holcombe's the past two or three years."

With Holcombe gone, the natural health and organic food crowd will have to look elsewhere for their products.

One possibility is the Carbondale, Ill., Farmers Market, where at least one grower practices organic farming.

Another is Natural Health Organic Foods at 135 S. Broadview, where packaged organic foods are available.

"We occasionally have organically-grown fruit," said Mike Brown, who opened his market at 135 S. Broadview about three months ago. "Currently, we have fresh oranges and apples."

The store can special order a variety of fresh organically-grown fruits and vegetables, said manager Beckie Farris.

Carroll Montgomery, an organic farmer near Dexter, raises a few vegetables for family use, but his major organic crops are conventional farm crops -- tofu soybeans, specialty corn varieties and a couple of acres of cotton.

Montgomery conducted a tour on his farm Friday, hosting extension and agriculture officials Thursday and area farmers.

Montgomery developed his "natural balanced nutrient programs" on half of his 160-acre farm in 1979. Five years ago, he converted all of his 160-acre farm to production of certified organic crops.

His fertilizers are based on kelp, fish and sugars. He uses certain forms of garlic for insecticides. He said the kelp and fish provide nitrogen, while the sugars speed up photosynthesis and "give the crops a boost of energy."

Organic farming is mainly based on labor-intensive practices such as weeding by hand and composting stalks and other organic (non-chemical) by-products of farming, including manures, which build up the soil.

Farmers markets selling non-organic vegetables, flowers, plants and baked goods are familiar throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Tomatoes and okra are late this year but most other vegetables are plentiful now.

Landreth and his wife, Mabel, use about five acres of their 150-acre Southern Illinois farm for vegetables, marketing their products at Cape Girardeau, Anna, and Herrin.

"We keep busy this time of year," said Landreth. "We're at Anna Tuesday, Cape Girardeau Thursday and Herrin, Ill., Saturday."

More than a dozen vendors were on hand at Cape Girardeau last week, providing a variety of vegetables, flowers and plants and baked goods.

Vegetable and melon acreages are also down this year.

Nationally, acreages for 13 selected vegetables to be harvested by year's end are about 5 percent below those of the previous three years.

Vegetable acreage in Southeast Missouri, including commercial potato growers, usually ranges about 19,000 acres. This year's crop, however, is about 17,000 acres.

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

This was evident Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Farmers Market. A number of the vendors had large heads of cabbage, baskets of eggplant and large boxes of raspberries, green and other peppers.

Tomatoes were scarce, okra even scarcer.

"We have plenty of green tomatoes," said Don Menees, an Illinois vegetable grower who sets up here and at Carbondale. "But they just aren't ripening."

Menees and his wife, Afton, specialize in potatoes but also have a number of other vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables straight from the farm are a big attraction to consumers and the state's markets everywhere. Direct marketing through farmers' markets, roadside stands and pick-your-own operations is popular, said Jim Anderson, a horticulture marketing specialist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"Consumers get to select their own products and producers have minimal overhead costs, giving them a ready source for cash income," said Anderson.

Officially, 48 farmers markets are listed in the state's 1996 Farmers Market Directory, which is availably be calling (573)-751-3394. Unofficially, there are many more markets when all the roadside stands and truck tailgates in Missouri towns are counted in.

The Southeast Missouri area is well suited for vegetables, said Tim Schnakenberg, extension agronomist for Mississippi County.

The soil is good, the water supply is unlimited and growers are close to numerous vegetables markets. Not all vegetable farmers go to local farmers markets, said Schnakenberg.

"The majority of potatoes raised here have already been shipped to potato chip companies this year," he noted. "Melons, tomatoes and cucumbers leave the area daily headed for major vegetable markets."

Schnakenberg recently headed a vegetable tour in Mississippi and Scott counties. More than 70 growers, agribusiness workers and Missouri Department of Agriculture representatives attended the tour.

Most markets are designed for vendors who have grown fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. Producers who sell jelly, jams and baked goods must have produced the principal ingredient included in the product.

The Galleria market is held each Thursday, May through October, starting at 3 p.m. There is also a downtown market which runs from 8 a.m. to noon Friday and Saturday during the same months. It is located in the pavilion near Independence.