Like so many Saturdays in the last 25 years of the Homer Farmers Market, with the sound of marimbas ringing through the air, the signs of summer couldn’t be more obvious.

There were vibrant colors of fresh vegetables and fresh cut flowers throughout the market. The tulips were exploding with color and the different vendors’ radishes and turnips absolutely glowed. The greens were crisp and fresh while the parsnips and potatoes were reliably solid after the winter in a root cellar. There is just something that catches the eye when veggies are fresh and local.

Speaking of eye-catching, don’t forget to come by the market and get the latest T-shirt. This year’s design, thanks to Savannah Bradley, has been a total hit so far. The market manager is even wondering if they are going to have to reorder T-shirts mid-season to keep up.

The face of the market changes every year, not just on the T-shirts. When I asked Megan Long of Wild Wellness Farm about her market memories, she said every year has been different for her. She started off small, just selling eggs, muffins and ferments. She still sells her now-famous fermented vegetables, but her booth is full of value-added products like herb salts, salves, body oils, fermented fireweed tea, and all kinds of seasonal starts. Having shelf-stable products means she can also sell more months of the year on the Alaska Food Hub.

Cindy Bolognani has been at the market much longer than Megan, but her booth has also gone through different evolutions. This is Cindy’s 19th year at the market. Though she has down-sized to selling only garden starts nowadays, in her first year Cindy had a full market garden and sold all kinds of vegetables. She even went through the process of becoming Certified Naturally Grown, a certification that requires your farming peers to approve of your farming practices rather than requiring thousands of dollars for specific amendments and a certifier flown up from the Lower 48 like organic certification requires.

So head on down to the market this Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or Wednesday from 2-5 p.m. and see what catches your eye.

Kyra Wagner is the board president for the Homer Farmer’s Market.