Strategies for  Slow Moving Products at Your Local Farmers Market

Never underestimate the power of first impressions -- especially at farmers markets.  There is so much to see and decide upon, and everyone’s time --and money -- has limitations.  This is especially true with the arrival of fall.  The customer traffic is slower.  The tomatoes are about done, replaced with items that are not as popular such as winter squash and assorted greens.  

The good news is that farmers markets, especially in southern areas of the country, are remaining open longer into the year. There is still money to be  made, but it is a different game now. 

Farmers-market customers do not buy for two simple reasons.  They cannot tell what you have based on a quick, pass-by glance and are not curious enough to stop find and out.  They know what you have but do not what it.  Some tips on overcoming both.

1.Repackage and Combine.  Think about items that are similar, complimentary but do not fare well a stand-alone products.  A neighbor vendor this season sold “ornamental bouquets’’ of  herbs such basil, rosemary, perhaps dill or cilantro. Select some basil that is already flowering as this catches peoples eye.    Explain how they will stay fresh and flavorful  if the water is changed about every two days.  A trick of my own is to sell gourmet salad blends of fresh basil leaves, young radish tops, kale, even baby mustard and turnip greens with a base of leaf lettuce.     

2.  Lift the veil.  The best way to preserve the nutrition in fruits and vegetables is by wrapping or bagging them  as opposed open-air displaying.  But if people cannot tell what it is and thus do not want to eat it, you are not serving them well.  Your job is to do what the customer perceives to be in their best interest, not what you believe it to be.   Besides, people  are drawn to a full table teeming with the bounty of a harvest.  As a compromise try displaying greens in bulk, then keep some wrapped up alongside ready-for-sale.  

3. Partner Up.  Find another vendor at the market that sells either a  prepared food or grows a crop that compliments what you have and forge a symbiotic relationship.  This summer, a lady that made artisan cheeses sent her customers my way to pick up some fresh figs.  At this season, suggest how well your  broccoli, radishes or carrots would taste with dips or salad greens with flavored olive oils or vinegars which another market vendor prepares.  

4.  Document It.  Show the public what you grow and how with photos --  from planting, seedling to harvest.  Shoppers, in general, love to learn about what you do though words and images instead of listening to a long sales pitch.  Don’t you?

These are suggestions only.  You should likely tweak these as well as come up with your own. I recommend keeping  a notebook handy and jot down ideas as they come to while you are working.  Farmers markets are resources only -- not a guaranteed paycheck.  Like everything else in life, you get out what you put in. 

Depending on what part of the country you're in, it's getting to be the time of year when we will need to get started with some of our early seed starting. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and many herbs and summer veggies can benefit from being started anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months early indoors.

If you buy new planting trays every year, you can go ahead and proceed as you normally would. Fill with starting medium, maybe cover with plastic, and either set in a window or build yourself a seed starting set up and put up lights. If, however, you're like me and try to conserve a little bit of money as well as maybe not use as many resources, then you'll likely try planting many of your seeds in starter trays that you've kept over from previous years. There will of course be trays that have met there useful end and must be scrapped, but taking a little time to clean and store the ones that have not will go a long way to increasing the "bottom line" in your home garden in the long run.

There is one thing that must be taken into consideration when reusing planting supplies however. Sanitation. Just as germs and bacteria can be spread in our kitchens through careless sanitation, so too can they be spread in our gardens. Many of those bacteria and disease strains can be terribly harmful to our gardens if not devastating. Fortunately for us, as the gardeners and caretakers of our gardens, there is a simple way for us to mitigate this potential disaster.  

Each year before I begin planting, I pull out my trays, sort through those that have become unusable, clean off the cobwebs and give them a bleach bath.

I happen to have a dedicated sink in my garage workshop that I make use of for this, but a simple bucket of bleach water, a folding table or even a board over a pair of saw horses will work perfectly well. The point is that you want to kill off any harmful bacteria before you start new seedlings in these trays.  

After you've cleaned the trays that you want to use, it's not a bad idea to give some of your other implements a dip as well before dumping out the water. Pruners, loppers, trowels and other tools come in direct contact with our plants and can also hold dormant bacteria or spores.

The long and the short of it is that with a little planning, and investment of a small bit of time, you can make sure to get your seedlings and your grand plans for this years garden off to a great start. 

Paul~ 

You can reach Paul Gardener by email, or check his personal blog at A posse ad esse. 

Read more: Growing Possibilities