NORTH ADAMS — For local farmers, winter can be a challenge, but indoor markets help fill the gap.

On Saturday, residents flocked to one at Hotel Downstreet, held on the first Saturday of each month through May.

Here’s a look at some of the vendors.

Near the front of the market, Laura Tupper from Full Well Farm in Adams was hosting a warm clothing swap instead of selling the farm’s usual vegetables and flowers. The farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program ended in late December, when members sign up and prepay for the harvest either monthly or up front for a season.

This winter, Full Well is adding two new features to its CSA. Beginning in May, members will be able to customize their boxes, a change that has already led to some additional sign-ups, though it’s too soon to tell how significant the impact will be.

Visitors stop at informational tables as well as a warm winter clothing swap at the North Adams Winter Farmers Market at Hotel Downstreet on Saturday.

“Definitely we have had people interested in the past that have not signed up because maybe they have an allergy to a certain crop family,” said Tupper. “They are excited to sign up now knowing they won’t get things they can’t eat.”

Growing in the winter, especially for vegetable farmers, takes longer and is more difficult, Tupper said. Because of limited indoor space, Full Well grows in rotations and can only produce so much.

But the demand is still there. Tupper said, if they could grow more in the winter, people would buy it.

“That’s the whole idea of CSA sign-ups, is to support a farm before their selling season,” said Tupper. “We have to buy seeds, buy supplies, pay ourselves, keep afloat with winter bills before we have the veggies."

To increase year-round production, this is also the first year Full Well has extended its flower season, growing thousands of tulips during the winter instead of starting in April. They will begin selling them later this month through a tulip CSA.

“A lot of people get flowers during the summer normally, and then there is a long stretch where its gray and you want something to look at.”

Herbal remedies, teas and beeswax products are among the items on display at Panacea Herb Farm’s table at the North Adams Winter Farmers Market at Hotel Downstreet on Saturday.

This winter marked Lindsey Pszwaro’s first season at the North Adams market, where the Shaftsbury, Vt., resident sold homemade herb and beeswax remedies, including mineral tea and herbal balms. She also sold at the Maker’s Market earlier this year.

Panacea Herb Farm owner Lindsey Pszwaro chats with customers about her products at the North Adams Winter Farmers Market at Hotel Downstreet on Saturday.

Because her products rely mostly on dried herbs she grows, production is not heavily affected by the weather. Still, being new to the winter market brought some uncertainty.

“The holiday markets were great, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the winter goes,” she said. “I’m not sure what to expect,” she said, but was pleasantly surprised by an early morning rush at the market.

Kelli Fahey has sold her beekeeping husband’s honey at the farmers market for 14 years. While sales typically spike during the holidays, this winter brought encouraging news, with sales “comparable to pre-COVID," which Fahey said was a good sign for the year ahead.

Though much of the honey was harvested earlier in the year, Fahey reminded customers that honey never goes bad.

Products for sale are on display at Square Roots Farm’s table at the North Adams Winter Farmers Market at Hotel Downstreet on Saturday.

Michael Gallagher’s animal farm in Lanesborough has been steady but it is “definitely” slower than warmer months, he said, because of the amount of markets they can attend.

In the summer, Square Roots typically attends two markets a week; in the winter, that drops to two a month, though the farm continues online sales and direct purchases from its farm stand.

Square Roots Farm owner Michael Gallagher chats with customers during the North Adams Winter Farmers Market at Hotel Downstreet on Saturday.

Inside their egg cartons, Square Roots Farm describes the pasture-raised lifestyle of their chickens, turkeys, pigs and cows.

There is also less to do during the colder months because there are fewer animals, Gallagher said. The farm currently sells cows and eggs, while meat birds raised earlier in the year are sold frozen to last through the winter.

Although eggs are sold year-round, production drops in colder months. Earlier this winter, Gallagher partnered with Full Well and other farms on an egg-share, making it easier for customers picking up CSA boxes.

“I think people in general think farmers markets only happen during the summer,” he said. “People may not know there are farmers markets all throughout the winter. We are here on the first Saturday of every month and Pittsfield on the second Saturday. There is still plenty of opportunity to get good food.”