| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| mandymcar |
Posted - Jan 29 2009 : 9:25:27 PM
Hello,
I really would like to plant a big garden and sell things at the local farmers market. I am just wondering how financially viable it is and if those of you who do it for a living would mind telling me if you feel it is worth it? How long until you showed a profit and what are your most profitable products?
I am wondering with the way the economy is if many people are planning to try it as well and if the market will be a bit tougher this year.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Mandy
www.twistedspoon.biz
www.haystackstudio.etsy.com |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| 5 acre Farmgirl |
Posted - Mar 26 2009 : 1:36:40 PM
For me, It is worth it, we get all of the people from the other side of the Cascade Mountains that come over for a drive on the weekends, they all have $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$<<<<<<<<>
They buy whatever they please, I do real well, Organic Peppers for $2.25 per pound, and more for other stuff...I also bake breads(that is about all one can bake is WA. because of food laws)...and I still make about $200.00 clear on a saturday.
We will see this year....
Farmgirl Sister #368
"It is most common for man to value most what has least worth."
My Farm and Garden blog....
http://blogonthefarmandgarden.blogspot.com
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| NudeFoodFarm |
Posted - Mar 20 2009 : 5:57:47 PM
Honeysuckle Jelly
Pick the blossoms from honeysuckle. Take just the little yellow petals. Steep two cups moderately packed flowers in 2 cups water at least 30 minutes. (I just put the flowers in a pan and poured just barely boiling water over them and left them on warm from 30 to 45 minutes)...be careful that they DO NOT boil!!!
Then drain the liquid off that to use.
The Farmers Market is a tricky thing. In Washington State they have WIC Farmers Market checks. Where ladies who recieve WIC get $20. per child to spend on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables at the Farmers Market. Last year I sold all my plants in pots and could not recieve the checks because I was not vending "food ready produce". So this year I am making sure to harvest the veggies and bring them rather than haul the pots back and forth. Wierd though you would think you would want to teach how to provide food rather than just sell it. But whatever. . .
Here is a great Honeysuckle recipe.
Combine one-fourth cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar.
3 oz liquid pectin (I used a pack of Sure Jell cause I didn't have liquid)
Bring the first three ingredients to a boil you can't stir down. Add pectin, bring back to a boil, and boil exactly one minute.
I ladled into one-half pint jars then water bathed for five minutes.
MAKE SURE YOU HARVEST YOUR HONEYSUCKLE FROM SOMEWHERE THERE HAS BEEN NO SPRAYING OR OTHER POISONS
Nude Food Farm
~Grown so good,
Dressing is Optional. |
| corporatefarmgirl |
Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 12:30:16 PM
Oh BamaSuzy would you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share your recipe for Honeysuckle Jelly. I have not had any in years and would love to make some 
live well,
Tamara
www.thegoodearthfarm.com
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
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| BamaSuzy |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 06:30:32 AM
Our Farmer's Markets require that you have a grower's fee (which is free in Alabama) and you can't sell anything that had to be pressure canned....
One of the State Farmer's Market reps came by last year and visited with me and said I had the "right idea" because I was selling stuff that no one else at our county's farmer's market had....that day I was selling Honeysuckle Jelly, Blackberry Jelly, and my goat milk soap! This year I'm also going to be selling dried and fresh herbs and a few more items.
(I also have a little farm store where I sell all sorts of stuff like that at my farm, plus my "farm fresh eggs from happy chickens.")
But if you plan to just sell vegetables that everybody else is growing you likely won't make a profit. You either need to be on the market FIRST with some items or be the only one or one of the few who sell that particular thing! BEST WISHES!
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
| LoraFLeming |
Posted - Feb 25 2009 : 5:01:18 PM
Check into the laws for your county/state. Our county requires a vendor's license and if you're selling anything "consumable" you need a certified kitchen to prepare it ... one of the vendors was told she had to stop selling radishes that were cleaned & trimmed because she didn't have a licensed kitchen ... sometimes they can be sticklers for health ordinances and such. Then, right up the road across the county line you can sell anything you want with no permits of any sort! So it pays to check it out! |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Feb 07 2009 : 7:50:51 PM
I look at it as "this is money I wouldn't have if I spent the morning cleaning house or watching TV" on Saturday mornings.
It helps me pay for my garden seed and fertilizer. If I had to calculate the time I spend planting, tilling, fertilizing, harvesting, loading the car, thinking of a marketing strategy, making signs, loading the car, travel time, gas, time spent at market, etc. I would be making about $0.15 per hour....
But if it's money I wouldn't have if I didn't do it, and the veggies would just go to waste or my compost pile, it helps me to build community and get to know my neighbors, etc... so all the benefits are not $$$$s.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Feb 06 2009 : 4:57:21 PM
Mandy, I have been going to our little market the past few years. I sell produce and usually sell everything I take. We are required to only sell what we grow on our own property or what we make ourselves. And we have to be a member. I have sold jellies and pickled peppers and pickled okra and done well with those, too. I love going but can only go on Wed. afternoons. I do all this myself so I pick all morning that day and have to drive about 20 miles. But I love it and get to meet lots of great people.
They have a Sat. market, too, but I'd have to be there by 7:00 am and there's no way with milking goats and feeding all the animals here. So I just go one day a week and for only about 3 months and have made pretty good money. I am planning on going this year and need to get going with the gardens soon. I'm going to make them bigger this year.
And plant lots of Hickory King corn. I only had 7 rows last year and I couldn't even get it unloaded before it was all gone. I've got requests for a lot already. That's nice when you can find out what everyone wants ahead of time but it doesn't always work out that way. What sells good one year may not the next.
Anyway, you should go for it. It's fun and you make money, too. It is alot of hard work and I think I figured up the first year I made about $1.50 an hour. If I had help I could plant more and have help harvesting. But then I'd have to pay someone.
Kris
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori proverb |
| rhondacate |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 11:07:41 PM
We sell veggies and pasture raised chickens. And we do pretty well for the small town we are in.
Before you do jams or vinegars or any other "processed" foods, make sure you check the regulations of your state or farmer's market about whether or not they need to be done in a certified kitchen. Sometimes even if state law requires it, individual farmer's markets do not enforce it.
~Rhonda
http://rmfo-blogs.com/rhonda |
| mandymcar |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 7:45:16 PM
Herbal vinegar is a great idea....
www.twistedspoon.biz
www.haystackstudio.etsy.com |
| Cass11 |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 7:29:59 PM
I have been selling at Farmers Markets for at least 15 years. I have always done well. I do not sell produce though. I usually sell BBQ sauce and Jams. I have also done well with my hand crafted jewelry but only because we live on a highway that has a lot of tourists. Locals do not buy jewelry I find. Find a product that no one else sells, like herbal vinegar or a special jam recipe or ice cream fruit sauce like - peach sauce. Good luck.
www.alinejewelryandcrafts.com
www.alinearts.etsy.com |
| ClaireSky |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 4:10:44 PM
It wouldn't hurt to try. You just never know...
Julie
Farmgirl Sister #399
West-Central WI Farmgirls
Folks will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog...Charles F. Doran |
| milkmaid |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 11:03:06 AM
I have ordered from baker creek but I also like heirloom acres, fedco , and seed savers.
http://goodfarm.blogspot.com/
Mother to five awesome kids, wife of 17 years and milk maid to two beautiful cows. Living the good life!!! |
| Forrester Farm |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 08:00:30 AM
Mandy, I sold flower bouquets and potted herbs at a local market for years and always thought that it was worth it. I have to confess though that after taking last summer off, it was very nice to have summer Saturdays open (unless a wedding was scheduled). We are looking into week day markets for this coming season - really though, Saturday markets seem to be the best attended.
Ann
Forrester Farm
www.forresterfarm.com
www.forresterfarm.etsy.com |
| mandymcar |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 3:43:19 PM
Where do you like to get your heirloom seeds?
I was thinking of ordering from Baker Creek, which I believe is in your neck of the woods.
Thanks,
Mandy
www.twistedspoon.biz
www.haystackstudio.etsy.com |
| milkmaid |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 3:06:41 PM
We sell at our local market (population of around 6,000) and go in to kansas city. We sell open pollinated heirloom vegetables and herbs. I have found that if you don't factor in every minute spent planting,weeding,watering,planning and that sort of thing that you can earn a nice income. We have been able to buy a tractor, new huge tiller, new milk cows and lots of farm stuff with the extra money that I earn in the summer. I really like the markets it is a bit of work but I love the people. They are all there to support local farmers and that is something!!
http://goodfarm.blogspot.com/
Mother to five awesome kids, wife of 17 years and milk maid to two beautiful cows. Living the good life!!! |
| mandymcar |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 10:28:38 AM
I would say it is very well attended, the town is about 4,000 but it serves a sprawled out area of about 15,000 I believe.
I am thinking of trying to put my focus on fruit such as raspberries and melons. I think I will just have to start small and see how it goes.
www.twistedspoon.biz
www.haystackstudio.etsy.com |
| corporatefarmgirl |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 09:04:41 AM
Hi Mandy - It will really depend on the attendance at the market. I would suggest finding out what the averege number of attendees are.
A good thing is that in this economy people are looking for a good deal on fresh food items. So farmer's markets are one of the first places they go to shop. Good luck -
live well,
Tamara
www.thegoodearthfarm.com
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
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| prairielandherbs |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 08:50:41 AM
Hi Mandy! That is a BIiiiiig question. The answer depends on the type of market you have available to you, what it costs to vend, how much time it takes for you to get there, the clientele at the marke, and what you will be selling. So do have a little more info you can give us?
For example: I sell herbal bath and body products. I can do well at the local market - but it's a very well attended, VERY metropolitan market with a low vendor cost. It takes quite abit of my time to vend there, but, it is worth it. Smaller, markets are not worth my time, because the clientele is not right. So.....it depends. :)
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