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Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post While farmers wait for spring vegetables to come in, Mike Miller was selling beautiful salad bowls so you can grow your own lettuce at home. He also had plenty of tomato plants.

Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post Lee Ly came to the Salisbury Rowan Farmers Market with beautiful spring flowers, including early iris and ruffled tulips. She also had a few herbs and vegetables.

Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post Poundcake anyone? How Sweet it is is back at the Salisbury Rowan Farmers Market with cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies and more.

Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post Get your Centennial Jelly now from Teachers Can Too at the Salisbury Rowan Farmers Market at 520 S. Main Street.

Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post Get your greens on. David Correll of Correll Farms has early greens, including traditional offerings and things like Koji, a Chinese green.

Deirdre Parker Smith/Salisbury Post Better Loafing had a little bit of everything on the first day of the Salisbury Rowan Farmers Market, breads, cakes, and assorted treats.

By Deirdre Parker Smith

deirdre.smith@salisburypost.com

It was a dark and gloomy opening for the Salisbury/Rowan Farmers Market on Saturday.

But a good number of vendors came with their bright tents and early shoppers got their pick of flowers, vegetables, eggs, meat, soap, breads, cakes, pies — just about everything needed for a spring meal.

Again located at 520 S. Main St., in the parking area next to Side Kick Karate (near the Elks Lodge), the market vendors tightened their shopping area, with space left for vendors who plan to come in the next couple of weeks as their crops are ready.

Light showers in the morning were more an annoyance than anything else, but later in the morning, when thunder and lightning moved in, vendors packed up, trying to protect their goods and themselves from the storms that followed.

This Easter weekend looks like a nice one, so shoppers will be able to spend more time browsing and buying.

Lee Ly had bunches of bright spring flowers that she was making into lovely bouquets. Her iris were early and a nice surprise. She had ruffled tulips, plain tulips and more. Her garden is off to a good start, with plenty of cilantro and dill, as well as lettuce, bok choy, pea shoots, two kinds of radishes and more. The red and white French breakfast radishes were small and flavorful.

Mike Miller had lots of tomato plants in several varieties, along with some young onions and bountiful salad bowls so you can grow your own dinner at home. He hopes to have strawberries in two weeks.

Teachers Can Too were there with the very popular Centennial Jelly, created for Cheerwine’s 100th birthday and a bestseller. They had blueberry jam, strawberry rhubarb, fig, sweet Carolina heat, and more. Just the thing to go on the breads or rolls available at the market.

Two Pigs Farms had a line of people waiting for fresh pork, beef and chicken products, along with eggs and a little asparagus, and some alpaca products.

The Soap Shack braved the damp day to bring soaps, lotions, bath bombs and other soothing products, and they were prepared to protect their goods from heavy rain.

Mike Turco was manning the booth for How Sweet It Is, which included plenty of pound cakes, muffins, cookies, pies, brownies and rolls.

David Correll was there with son Talton, the egg man. They had plenty of fresh eggs, along with at least three different lettuces, several choices of spring greens, herb plants, and relief that this spring looks brighter than last year’s. Correll expects to have more items from the farm in the coming weeks. “I actually had more to bring today than I expected.”

Better Loafing brought bread, some small cakes and other sweet items, including two favorites, a lemon bliss cake and a caramel apple cake.

You could also find flowers to plant, along with thriving ferns and other hanging baskets from a new vendor.

The vendors were happy to see their regulars and were hoping for a break in the weather that didn’t come. This Saturday will mark one of the few times the market has been open before Easter, so it will be a good time to get fresh, local food for your big meal.

Our first meal from the market was a salad with mixed lettuces we got at the market, fresh asparagus, French breakfast radishes, boiled fresh eggs, and a couple items from the grocery store. There is no comparison in flavor and freshness.

Just be sure to wash your salad greens or cooking greens well — they are so fresh, they still have some homegrown soil on them.