
Crowds are steady May 1 for the first day of the new season at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market at George H.P. Smith Park.

Katie and Doug Wood are owners of 302 Aquaponics, which offers soil-free produce such as lettuce and other greens, as well as fish. The Dover-based company is the largest commercial aquaponics facility in the state.

Fifer Orchards, with locations in Camden and Dewey Beach, has seasonal produce for sale including asparagus and rhubarb.

Historic Lewes Farmers Market volunteer Nadine Wick raises the gate for people to exit the market. Although some COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, the market still must maintain a separate entrance and exit.

The Station on Kings in Lewes offers a wide selection of handmade baked goods.

Zachary Dittmar of Dittmar Farms in Felton has fresh eggs and baskets for sale.

Claire Sullivan holds up products for sale at the Lavender Fields booth.

Dale Langehr sorts through mushrooms – including shiitake, pom pom, oyster and portobello varities – at the Davidson Exotic Mushrooms booth. The Kennett Square, Pa. company sells mushrooms at markets throughout Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Justin Grimminger of Ficner’s Family Farm & Market in Dover has plenty of bedding plants available for spring planting.

This year, Historic Lewes Farmers Market volunteers are collecting food for the Epworth Food Pantry in Rehoboth Beach.

It’s hard to resist tempting treats offered by Old World Breads bakery in Lewes, as well as The Point Coffee Shop and Bakery in Rehoboth Beach and The Station on Kings in Lewes, which are all market vendors.

Fresh-baked bread is usually one of the first items to be sold out at the Lewes market.

Honey Bee Lake Apiary, based in Frankford, is among a growing number of small farmers producing their own honey.

Mushrooms catch the light of the early-morning sun as the Lewes market opens.

Fresh eggs are always popular at local farmers markets.

Rhubarb, one of the most colorful early-spring plants, is typically used in pies, tarts and jams.

Federal Brewing Co. in Federalsburg, Md., offers wellness products, including its own bottles of kombucha, which is a fermented black or green tea.

It’s time to start gardening, and plants are plentiful at the Lewes market.