Market organiser and Slow Food Hunter Valley leader Amorelle Dempster said the start time had been pushed forward to 7am so shoppers had more time to stop and shop on their way to work.

Seven farmers will have 28 types of fruit and vegetables on offer and herbs from Telarah Public School’s garden will also be sold.

Cauliflowers will be out in force at this market. Most of the crop was ready last week after a spike in temperatures made them ripen more quickly.

Ms Dempster has asked farmers to bring their freshly ripened cauliflowers as well as the ones that were ready for picking last week.

“We're calling them cauliflower seconds – but they’ve still got the same nutritional value and the same taste, they just don’t look perfect,” she said.

Shoppers can expect the range of produce available to expand again as spring takes hold on farm land. 

“Farmers are extending their ranges, they are putting in more crops, diversifying, looking at old heritage varieties and changing their ways to bring more choice to the market,” Ms Dempster said.

A larger market, with longer trading hours, is on the cards once there is enough produce available to meet shopper demand.

Ms Dempster said it took time for farmers to increase their yield and shoppers had to be patient while the transition took place. 

“Many of these farmers used to grow very large quantities of one crop, and now they are growing small amounts of different crops to give shoppers more variety,” she said.

“That takes time to happen. “The biggest difficulty with expanding the market is having enough produce for each stall.

“Once we develop that the council will be on board to move into a new market situation.

"The council is open to extending the hours and open to give as much support as it can.”

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