"How can I tell if this corn is good or not?" a customer asked Barrie Moser, owner of Moser's Garden Produce, on a Friday at the downtown farmer's market.

"By eating it," Moser answered.

Every Friday afternoon from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., vendors line both sides of Locust Lane between Beaver and College avenues and sell their locally produced goods.

This year the market has completed nine of its 12 weeks, but an additional five weeks will project it into November.

After a rainy summer the market now is in full swing, Moser said, especially because students have returned to town.

One such student is Greg Latshaw (junior-marketing), who visited the market for the first time.

He said he was not planning on getting anything, but he picked up a bunch of apples.

"You can't get produce like this on campus," Latshaw said. "Like with pears, you'd either get ones that would instantly decompose or never go ripe."

Katie Feeney (junior-journalism) discovered the festival as a freshman and said she attends every Friday.

Having worked at a similar market, she said she has a strong appreciation for good produce.

"I just can't put up with store-bought vegetables," she said. "They just don't taste right."

Carrying bags of tomatoes and corn, she had also picked up some pesto baguettes -- what she said is one of the market's best secrets.

"It's nice we get to have this in a college town where a lot of people wouldn't expect this," Feeney said. "Once a week we get really great food, and the rest of the week it's Easy Mac."

Dan Brigham, Elk Creek Fish Hatchery owner, is halfway through his two-year term as market president. Brigham said the market serves anyone who appreciates good, freshly grown foods.

"Everything is produced in the county," Brigham said. "You could say the whole food chain is local."

Brigham said one of the main perks of shopping at the market is the ability to meet the people responsible for the products from the ground up.

So while some State College residents meander from vendor to vendor scouring the selection, others stop to chat with the vendors.

"It's congenial," Moser said. "People come to get a good deal, to socialize and meet friends."

Darlene O'Neal, owner of Pennsylvania Furnace-based Nurture Yourself Naturally, who sells her homemade soaps and body care products, described the atmosphere as "fun and earthy."

"It's amazing how many students have come through with such a positive reaction," O'Neal said.

Moser said the exchange between vendors is mostly cooperative, although there is some overlap in goods, causing competition.

"Competition is a healthy part of the market because it creates the diversity of products," Moser said.

For example, while one vendor may sell one or two kinds of peppers, another booth will have a selection of a half-dozen different types.

The market's standard format includes 23 vendors, often interchanging from week to week with associate or alternate members who will fill a space on short notice. Issues concerning the limited available space, member status, and site selection are discussed at meetings throughout the year.

One point of contention each year is the market's starting time, which some members would like to have moved to an earlier hour.

There is also another smaller market Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m on Hiester Street. The main differences between the two markets are the number of vendors and notoriety -- the Friday market is much better known.

Moser said a main misconception about the market is that people want products that are grown out of season. Although a few vendors have the capacity to grow certain crops a little earlier, for the most part, content will change with the change of the season.

There are a variety of production techniques, many of which employ organically grown methodology.

All of which are tasty.