It was a gusty Tuesday morning at the windswept Great Bend Public Library parking lot as customers trickled into the Great Bend farmers market in search for fresh produce, breads and jellies.

A local tradition for many years, the market sets up at this location from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. or noon (depending on the traffic) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the growing season. There are typically just a handful of sellers during the week, but Saturdays draw a large number of vendors peddling all matter of garden products and other homemade items.

“It is just sort of informal,” said Tuesday vendor Ron Sanders of rural Great Bend. “People just sort of show up.”

As he spoke, customers came up to his pickup seeking cucumbers and tomatoes, neither of which he had available yet. Still, “this has been a good growing year.”

Sanders has plenty of potatoes, squash and onions. The absent fruits and vegetables should be offered soon.

This comes despite the ongoing drought, he said. Now, he uses a drip irrigation system to water his plants.

He didn’t have one last year. “That was kind of rough,” he said.

The only other vendor selling Tuesday was Christy Burris of Stafford. She attends during the week, but takes her wares to a market in Pratt on Saturdays.

“I’m in my retirement years,” the spry Burris said. In addition to gardening, she operates a lawn-care business, with clients around the area, including Great Bend.

“I think I’m busier now than when I was ‘working,’” she said. But, gardening and yard work keep her active and outside.