French tarts are a big seller at Ian and Pam Currall's stall at the Kurow farmers market.
Mrs Currall makes the tarts topped with raspberries, strawberries or cherries, along with a variety of other baking and condiments, assisted by her husband, when she is not busy working as a practice nurse at the Kurow Medical Centre.
"We're both good cooks.
"We like cooking; we like messing about making chutneys and things like that," Mr Currall said.
Everything from elderflower cordial, free-range eggs, cathedral cake and pickled red cabbage to sausage rolls, made with their own recipe, spiced gooseberry jelly and quince paste was for sale at their Green Hills Produce stall on Saturday.
The Kurow farmers market was launched in December 2008, and Mr and Mrs Currall have been involved from its inception.
The market has been expanded to include other stalls, among them ones selling jewellery and cards.
When the idea was first floated, a large number of people indicated they were interested, but it was the "usual story" and numbers dwindled, Mr Currall said.
It was a "great idea" and he hoped it would attract more stallholders.
The decision to encompass more than just produce was made to try to encourage people to get involved.
While the Waitaki Valley is a popular destination for summer holidaymakers, Mr Currall had noticed there were not as many around this year and they were not spending as much money.
This time last year, he would have sold out by about 10am.
There were six stalls last Saturday, although numbers varied and sometimes reached 10 or 12, cherry grower Taieri Hore said.
Sporting a pair of cherry earrings, Mrs Hore said it was lovely meeting people and it was a very social morning.
It was also "cruisy hours", with the market operating between 9am and noon.
Margaret Little, from Raspberry Cottage at Willowbridge, near Waimate, - "the best strawberries and raspberries grow there" - was doing a steady trade with her berry fruit.
She also attends a farmers market in Timaru on Sundays.
