Clayton Farmer's Market to Begin 12th Season

This year, farmers began harvesting asparagus in March—about a month earlier than normal, Clayton Farmer's Market manager Deb Henderson said. The crop has been abundant.

In St. Louis, she's heard from a farmer who is already harvesting strawberries, cucumbers, lettuces and radishes. So she is hopeful that the recent warm temperatures will continue benefiting farmers and patrons of the market, which opens May 5 for its 12th season.

"This year is really a springboard from last year, in that we had a number of new vendors come last year," Henderson said. Some of them started selling at the market mid-season, so they are excited to begin selling their products early on this year.

, which presented challenges.

Alton, IL-based Riverbend Roots Farm, for example, intended to start selling when the season began last year but twice had to start over because of flooding, Henderson said. The weather also hurt the strawberry crop, and on some market days it resulted in reduced attendance.

Market festivities will kick off this year starting at 8:30 a.m. May 5 in the parking lot just east of . In keeping with a practice that began last year, a call to the market will be performed with bagpipes. A bluegrass band will play starting at 9:30 a.m. and continuing until 12:30 p.m., when the market closes for the day.

The city is hosting its second annual Community Day at during the same time, so organizers of each event will encourage visitors to walk to the other.  Visitors to the Center will visit with city officials, receive gift bags and view city vehicles, among other activities.

This year's market will feature between 25 and 30 vendors throughout the regular season, Henderson said, similar to last year's market. Additional vendors such as artists will attend periodically throughout the year.

The market season runs through Nov. 5.

Editor's note: Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch will have a booth at the market throughout the season, so be sure to stop by to say hello! Remember to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates in real time.