First Farmers Market of the Season opens (Bloomington)

Spring is here, which means six or so weeks of waiting for farmer's markets to open in the Indianapolis area.

If you're up for a quiet drive down SR 37, though, I thoroughly recommend a Saturday-morning drive to the Bloomington Farmers Market.

I've learned to settle for staring at starts and a few lone packages of lettuce in the May months, so I was surprised to find in Bloomington three rows of stands - in April, no less! - and little room to roam despite the wide berths between the vendors's rows. It was a visual feast of colors - rows of plants in bloom, a huge variety of produce, and locally produced foods from eggs to granola.

My 3 year old was thrilled to buy blueberry bushes to add to her strawberries at home. We were able to score semi-dwarf blueberry plants (which have just beautiful leaves and flowers!) from Backyard Berry Plants, a local producer of organically grown blueberry, raspberry and blackberry plants. The couple was extremely friendly and extremely knowlegable, and we were thrilled that they held back the last two of the particular variety for us, since we'd called ahead to let them know we'd be at the market. It's great to be able to have a resource that really understands what it's like to cope with this crazy Indiana weather!

I'm sure we'll make the occasional commute to Bloomington this summer, and I can't wait to see what's in store. The Bloomington market's hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through October. You can get directions here.

As one market opens, another sets to close. The Indy Winter's Market's last weekend is this Saturday. Hours are 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Stop by and show your support!