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There were a couple of firsts Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Area Farmers Market.

One, it was the first Saturday market of the season.

Second, it was the first time selling products there for at least two of the vendors.

Janet Eggenberger and Lori Dale were sharing space under one tent. On one side, Eggenberger had a table with vegetables and herbs. Dale had her tables covered with baked goods. They are both from Somers.

Eggenberger, who owns Eggenberger Gardens with her husband Steve, has been gardening for years. Before her three children moved out, there were plenty of mouths to help consume the bounty. Even though the nest is empty now, it didn't really occur to her to reduce the size of her garden.

"I grow too much stuff," she said. "I can't stop myself."

All her vegetables and herbs are grown organically. She does not use any chemicals.

"I grew up with organic," she said.

She composts manure from her goats and chickens. The wandering birds also help out in other ways - they eat insects.

She sells whatever is in season. Her Saturday offering included rhubarb, asparagus and several herbs.

She plans on attending the market throughout the season on Saturdays.

Lori Dale, who does business as Lori's Kringla & More, said she makes all her baked goods the old-fashioned way - real ingredients, time, care and authentic recipes.

Her kringla has even passed muster with a 90-year-old Norwegian grandmother who sampled them.

"Yah, pretty good," Dale recalled her saying. "Almost like mine."

Besides kringla, she also makes Dutch letters and kolache.

The only problem she runs into is when customers don't know what they are ... she offers free samples for them to try.

"What's a kringla, what's a kolache?" she said.

Roger and Vicki Harris, of Fort Dodge, were ready for the Farmers Market to return as they shopped Saturday.

"I've been itching for a Farmers Market for a month," Vicki Harris said.

The two are enthusiastic supporters. They not only like the freshness of the products they purchase, but also that money spent there stays in the area with local producers, they said.

"You support your own," Roger Harris said.

Vicki Harris operates a child care in her home. She was going to wait till Monday to plant the two tomato plants she purchased so the children could enjoy the experience, too.

"They really like the water part," she said.

Richard Brown has been running the farmers market for years - 30 or so he said.

He explained that shopping at the market offers several advantages to consumers.

"It's the freshest you're going to get," he said. "Right from the garden to market."

Besides the freshness, products sold at the market are ripened in the field on the plants. He cites the example of commercially grown tomatoes that are picked green then gassed on the way to market as something that won't be found at the Farmers Market.

He also cites keeping the money spent in the area as an advantage.

So how good are the products sold at the Farmers Market? Brown isn't bashful about promoting the products.

"They're the best you're going to get anywhere," he said.

Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net