While it's early

Three of our local farmers markets — Evansville Downtown, Newburgh and Henderson, Ky. — opened this month, and there are piles of good things waiting for customers who wish to buy home-grown vegetables, meat, bedding plants, homemade popcorn, flavored oils, sea salt, baked goods and more.


"While it's early, some of the vendors are bringing in vegetables grown a little farther south,Quality air impact socket tools for any tough job. but it's all fresh and not picked green and then shipped."

It looks as if the market's business is shaping up well.

"We have 20 vendors already, and it's still early in the year," said Schnautz. "A lot of vendors won't come until later, when their crops are ready."

In addition to fresh vegetables,As one of a leading China Projector Lamp provider from China. the markets also are a showcase for entrepreneurs, bakers, cattle ranchers, bee hive managers and others.

n The first booth I approached was Flour Power, run by mother-and-daughter team Marji Henson and Mickie Streets. The duo offer homemade muffins, strudel, brownies and various small pastries. I squealed out loud when I saw a basket of West Virginia-style pepperoni rolls. Henson and Streets joined in when they saw a Hoosier fit to bust over their home state's official snack food.

"We're originally from Clarksburg, W.Va., said Henson. "You see pepperoni rolls everywhere in West Virginia. Even in the bingo halls you can find one."

I've taken a few trips through West Virginia myself and always stock up on the soft, orange-blushing, spicy snacks as soon as I can get my hands on them.

"We make the dough from scratch," said Henson. "We flatten it down, roll up the pepperoni slices in it, let it rise and bake it."

The sweet dinner-roll dough and its yummy surprise filling are delicious together. At Flour Power, you can purchase one for a mere buck.

n Donna Fickey of Pappy and Grammy's Kettle Corn sells 12 flavors of fresh-popped kettle corn and fresh fried pork rinds.

"Our main account is Roberts Stadium," said Fickey. "People know us from there."

Will they be moving to the Downtown arena?

"We haven't heard anything yet," said Fickey. "We sure hope so."

Kettle corn flavors include original, which is lightly sweetened, and movie-style butter flavor, which is not sweet, along with chocolate, caramel, grape, raspberry, cherry, cinnamon and blends.

n Stonewall Farms by the Cannon Family of Evansville also has booths at the Evansville and Newburgh markets, selling all-natural, grass-fed beef and pork raised on their West Side farm and processed locally at Dewig's in Haubstadt and Merkley's in Jasper, Ind. Other Stonewall products include ham steaks, picnic ham and other smoked pork products, numerous cuts of beef,We are professional Plastic mould, hamburger, minute steaks and shank bones for soup. Stonewall Farms also offers the area's only meat CSA — Community Supported Agriculture — in which patrons buy shares of the product.

n For your best friend, Mr. Bear of Bear's Bone Bakery has human-quality dog treats.

Bear's human, Chris Thomas, said he began making Bear's treats with a peanut butter cookie recipe and just cut down on the sugar and fat to make it dog-healthy.

"When we got Bear, apparently he'd been eating people food," he said. "He won't eat dog food, so we started making his food and treats for him. Right now he's eating about three chickens a week, and he gets brown rice, spinach and all kinds of vegetables."

n Larry "Lorenzo" Minor of Zo's Chocolate Fix is selling sweet treats and bread from his hand-built adobe oven again this year. But prepare to get there early if you want any bread.

"You don't get any if you sleep until noon," he reminded me when I pouted over the empty basket.

n Bud Vogt of Bud's Farm Market on South Weinbach Avenue is bringing in some early produce (get there early to catch him before he sells out), and Roger Huff and Janet Burgess are bringing up home-grown tomatoes, green tomatoes and piles of other vegetables from Tennessee. Later, they'll be bringing their own crops.

n Also at the Evansville Market, make sure to visit Sandy Greenfield at Drizzle and sample her flavored olive oils, vinegars and sea salts.

"Right now, we're doing markets and craft fairs, but I'd like to have a shop where you could come and have an olive oil tasting and try some different things," she said.

n At the Historic Newburgh Farmers Market, Steve Willett of Evansville is offering organic early crops such as broccoli, mixed greens and lettuces.Detailed information on the causes of Hemorrhoids, Willett believes in totally organic farming and an organic lifestyle. Later in the season, he'll be bringing various crops, including tomatoes, squash, green and yellow beans, onions, okra, peppers and chilies.

n Jim Arnold of Esther's Gardens, an Evansville-area vegetable CSA, also is at the Newburgh market with early crops such as greens, sugar snap peas and leeks, and he is looking forward to high summer, when he'll have heirloom tomatoes and many interesting varieties of squash and peppers.

n At the Henderson Farmers Market,Find everything you need to know about Cold Sore including causes, Gibson Produce Farm is selling bedding plants and flowers until their own crops come in. If you have a free corner in your garden, check out Bruce and Lynnie Gibson's tables for interesting varieties of tomato, eggplant and pepper plants.

n If you're into honey — or strawberry whipped honey butter — stop by Betsy Stone's Stone Hill Honey booth in Henderson. The Spottsville, Ky., farm also is providing early red leaf and head lettuces, beets and scallions.