The April showers have brought in May flowers and the Vicksburg Farmers’ Market.

The ninth season of the Farmers’ Market will kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday in the downtown lot located on Washington Street between Jackson and Grove streets.

“If we have as good a year this coming year as we had last year, I’ll be very pleased,” Herschel “Sonny” Hale said. “We had a tremendous year last year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed if we can get anywhere near that, we’re in good shape.”

He said the market averages between 12 and 16 vendors a day.

“We’ve got several new vendors or some that have just been with us one or two times,” Hale said.

Vendors are set to carry milk, dairy, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peas and beans.

“Our market is a produce market mainly,” Hale said. “It’s 90 percent produce.”

Later in the season, he said, he expects to see peaches and watermelons from Smith County, but it is a little early to see those fruits in May. However, he said a vendor did tell him they plan to have tomatoes ready to go this weekend.

“That’ll be the earliest I’ve ever seen tomatoes at the market,” Hale said. “I’m interested in taking a look at that myself.”

He said in the past the market has had a vendor who grows hydroponic tomatoes— or tomatoes grown in water instead of soil, and he believes that Kosciusko area vendor will be back this year.

“Every one of them are perfect, not a spot on them, and they’re also low in acid,” Hale said.

He said the ample amount of rain the region has seen this year has impacted the market’s farmers. The rain has put some of them behind schedule, he said.

“Can’t get out there to get your crop,” Hale said. “They usually sell on Saturday and they usually pick on Fridays or Thursdays, and it’s hard for them to go out there and get it.”

He said the farmers are hoping they can catch a break with a stop to the incessant showers.

As for the market, Hale tries to keep the market open rain or shine and has rarely moved locations or completely shut down in the past. The alternate location has been in one of the parking garages on Mulberry Street.

“We try to give a lot of notice if we figure the ground is too soggy or if its bad, bad weather coming,” Hale said. “We try to give people the word we are going to be in the garage.”

The summer market will continue through Saturday, July 30, from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays and from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays.