Cosmo spring garden 2023

[Cosmo spring garden]

I feel so blessed by my garlic harvest this year! Best year ever! About 80% of the bulbs are this size!
I decided to rinse off the diet as soon as we harvested it and laid it out to dry for few hours. It's a cloudy day so perfect for doing this.
Reason I rinsed it, to minimize the amount of diet I drag in the house. Most will be sold or gifted so it will be eaten fairly quickly.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

A new adventure has begun! Our green house is finally up and we planted in it today. We faced so many challenges and every step took twice as long. We learned many lessons and feel so blessed to have this 30×40 space to grow in and learn from!
We had to rent a lift to put the hoops up since the structure is over 15ft tall. The rig weighed 13,000lb and it compacted the soil so much that even the tiller was bouncing around on top of the soil. Hubby broadforked the soil as much as he could and that helped the tiller actually *grab* and till the soil. I spent hours tilling.
We fertilized, raked smooth and put down the weed barrier fabric. I love using this fabric. I was very thoughtful about measuring and burning the holes so we could use the fabric each year. Two rows of fabri. have one hole in the center of the 5.5ft wide fabric that are 3 feet apart. 2 rows of fabric have holes a foot apart (5 rows ). I can plant many things in this spacing and if needed I can cover up any unused holes with a piece of cardboard to prevent weeds from growing through. The plastic can last many years!
I used the handy template and a torch to burn holes. Hubby put down drip irrigation. The fabric is water permeable so we placed the irrigation on top. We watched the water drip on the fabric and get absorbed in to the soil.
I must have spent 9 or so hours in the greenhouse today and I am so happy!
So far this is what I planted:
Watermelon: crimson clover
Cantaloupe : saved seeds
Winter squash: saved
Pumpkin:small decorative type, saved seeds
Cucumber : salt and pepper, Market more
Sunflowers: black oil
Flour corn: some red colored seeds
Jacob's cattle beans
3 Zucchini
3 Yellow squash
5 Hibiscus roselle
2 Peppersoblano and cubanelle
2 Tomatoes: volunteer
Candy corn
Eclipse beans
Calypso beans
Sweet potatoes

Need to plant:
Lettuce: will be transplanted
Carrots: sirect sow
I haven't decided how I will trellis the cuts or tomatoes. Maybe let them grow on the fabric? Thoughts?

I've never used drip irrigation but I can see myself loving it!
I'm tired! Good night all!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Went to my 3rd farmers market today. I am taking notes each time about what sells, what people are looking for, ect. I was harvesting carrots this morning and Chinese cabbage were in the next bed, so on a whim I harvested 4 and took them to market with me. They all sold and people were asking if I'll bring back more next week. I had lots of fun at market today. We had more vendors and lot more traffic. Not sure if I'll be able to go each week because I didn't really plant for selling at farmers market. The director of the market said I could pay per market day and that's perfect for me.
Raspberry plants are finally at the end of their harvest. I'm actually ok with this because it takes so long to harvest them!
I didn't plan to sell carrots and didn't know they would sell with the greens attached. But people were so excited that someone can grow carrots in our clay soil!
Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm tired but happy.

 

[digitS']

We sold at a farmers' market until COVID-19 put an end to our little enterprise.

I can say that whatever requires the most work -- sells the best. That sounds negative but it also means that a good price can be had.

Vegetables. Think of the most wonderful salad you could put together. Grow those ingredients. You are so very much involved in garden life and represent that. Remember the old adage – in life, timing is everything. Your major competition is the supermarket with its connection to a distribution system reaching thousands of miles distance. Seasonal production will vary across those miles but it will make little difference to their offerings in the produce aisles. THAT is what the customer is accustomed to.

Timing is everything. Keep notes on your own garden production. Realize that days-to-maturity listed in seed catalogs is helpful but isn't likely to reflect your growing conditions very precisely. You want your customer's ingredients to be all there together, perfectly fresh and ready for purchase.

There is this idea in coaching sports that with an ideal team, players on the bench have as much skill as the starters on the field. For a grower that means that a number of varieties is good insurance that your offerings will be fresh and available on marketday. Timing but also having some choices on what may be available for you to offer. It may take only one or two beyond your "standard" but you have added some assurance (insurance ) that your customer will find you there with something they want.

Be patient with yourself, mistakes will be made and growing crops means that they aren't quickly corrected. It's probably best not to do any calculations re income/hours of labor. Vegetables can require some processing so as to get them to market clean and presentable . Salad vegetables especially may require careful handling and refrigeration. Then, transportation and presentation, everything is fresh and pretty and now, you are supposed to be cheerful and friendly???

Steve

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

We sold at a farmers' market until COVID-19 put an end to our little enterprise.

I can say that whatever requires the most work -- sells the best. That sounds negative but it also means that a good price can be had.

Vegetables. Think of the most wonderful salad you could put together. Grow those ingredients. You are so very much involved in garden life and represent that. Remember the old adage – in life, timing is everything. Your major competition is the supermarket with its connection to a distribution system reaching thousands of miles distance. Seasonal production will vary across those miles but it will make little difference to their offerings in the produce aisles. THAT is what the customer is accustomed to.

Timing is everything. Keep notes on your own garden production. Realize that days-to-maturity listed in seed catalogs is helpful but isn't likely to reflect your growing conditions very precisely. You want your customer's ingredients to be all there together, perfectly fresh and ready for purchase.

There is this idea in coaching sports that with an ideal team, players on the bench have as much skill as the starters on the field. For a grower that means that a number of varieties is good insurance that your offerings will be fresh and available on marketday. Timing but also having some choices on what may be available for you to offer. It may take only one or two beyond your "standard" but you have added some assurance (insurance ) that your customer will find you there with something they want.

Be patient with yourself, mistakes will be made and growing crops means that they aren't quickly corrected. It's probably best not to do any calculations re income/hours of labor. Vegetables can require some processing so as to get them to market clean and presentable . Salad vegetables especially may require careful handling and refrigeration. Then, transportation and presentation, everything is fresh and pretty and now, you are supposed to be cheerful and friendly???

Steve

Thank you, Steve!
So much amazing wisdom and tips in your post.
One of the vendors has 5 "hot houses" and he already had ripe tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants and squash. My plants just started producing cucs and squash. My tomatoes are still green and eggplant hasn't even flowered yet. He said he plants in March for may harvest (that's when markets open here). He gave us some good info and was very friendly. He does 5 markets a week! I can't imagine doing that many!
How many markets did you do?
I agree that people are used to what's available at the grocery store. I need to shake that up a bit 😂.
I will gladly take any and all tips you can share

 

[SPedigrees]

As a consumer, the main draw for the farmers market near me has always been one particular seller's pasture raised chickens in the fall. This seller and his wife began by marketing their homemade maple products (which are yummy!), but this past year they branched out (from chickens) to offering various other pasture raised meats (lamb, pork, and goat if memory serves me). Unfortunately last year I had filled my freezers with pasture raised meats I buy from an outfit in Wisconsin so had no room for this local couple's delicacies save for one small chicken, but this fall I plan to rectify that.

In the past have mostly just visited in the fall, but this year I plan to visit in mid-summer to see what vegetable fare is offered by other sellers. I'd like to get some cucumbers and peppers this year, as I am growing neither this year. Produce needn't be certified organic for me to buy, but it does need to be raised without pesticides. Also if anyone there is offering home-made bread, that also would be a draw, as would be eggs from pasture raised hens..

I live equi-distant from two small cities. To the north is Rutland (about 20 miles away) and to the south is Manchester (just a few miles less far). Manchester is home to the farmers market I frequent, and this farmers market is open only to sellers who have produced the products they sell. It runs one day a week throughout the season. Rutland also has a farmers market but it is held in a parking lot downtown, whereas the Manchester one is in a small grassy park shaded by trees, and so is more inviting. Also last year they had a musician playing guitar and singing oldies/classics which added to the ambience.

I usually combine a trip to the farmers market with a visit to the supermarket for milk, cream, cheese, eggs, bread, produce, wine, and other necessities. Supermarkets both in Rutland and Manchester stock a good selection of organic versions of these products, but Manchester alone does not have a sampling of locally made organic bread, so finding some at the farmers market would be a really big draw.

Planning a trip this week!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Some pics of my garden from today. Close up shots taken on purpose so you can't see the weedy mess 😂.
Peppers seem to have doubled in size with last weeks heat.

 

[flowerbug]

...
I will gladly take any and all tips you can share

do not be afraid to offer slightly damaged items, if nobody else has them they might sell. also you can discount them to move for those who might have animals to feed. you're already making the trip and taking the time to be there, might as well bring as much as you can. the other thing is that if you are at a venue and things are slow you can do some food prep to cut those rejects up into more presentable items. clean water and a small bucket for scraps (or again you can sell them to a bunny owner or a worm keeper ).

 

[digitS']

the Manchester one is in a small grassy park shaded by trees, and so is more inviting

That provoked a "Street View" look at the small Vermont town . I even found the farmers' market sign with a couple of vendors just arriving to set up for their afternoon market in that triangular park with the George's Wineshop across one street and the Mexican restaurant with the outdoor dining across another.

Sorting the neighbors out for growing different crops and sharing would sure help neighborhoods (but, we would have cries of "socialism!" in some places ). What happens in a farmers' market after a few seasons is that things do become sorted out. Growers have to be willing to make something of a commitment and those are the best vendors for the customers and market, anyway.

Yes, 100%, it is nice to have bread and some other things offered as long as the other-than-growers approach doesn't get out-of-hand. Nothing very special about the offerings of a vendor who picks up produce at a wholesale outfit on the morning of the market and returns what doesn't sell to the same outfit in the afternoon. Oh yeah, there may be quite a few customers who show up to buy at a better price exactly what is available at the supermarket down the road. However, this will alienate local growers and those customers who are actively looking for local produce.

I was always in favor of crafters being accepted with their charming products. Yes, ambiance is important. Once again however, a craft fair differs from a farmers' market. You see, we started out at a market that ran for 8 hours because that was what the crafters expected. Our lettuce would be flat on the table after hanging around that long. Remember, you are competing with the soopermarket with their recordings of a thunderstorm when the misting comes on; guys in aprons carting out cold boxes of the most wonderful pineapples, bananas and coconuts; and a nice person on the end of the aisle providing free samples of some delightful this-or-that.

There were also people selling fruit & veggies from the produce companies at that "farmers' market." Interesting that those guys warred with each other - management couldn't keep anyone happy! The whole thing petered out after a few years but we left earlier than that for a growers & bakers only market.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

If you grow a lot & already have people who know you, give thought to operating as a CSA (community supported agriculture). People subscribe, and pay you in advance for promises of whatever you grow that is in season. That would take some research up front, but would eliminate some of the guesswork inherent in a farmers market - you know that people already want what you are growing. That could even work in conjunction with the farmers market; you could bring CSA boxes with you for your subscribers to pick up there.

There were also people selling fruit & veggies from the produce companies at that "farmers' market."

I've seen that here too, wholesalers trying to pass off shipped-in fruit & veggies as "local"... with all the chemicals that implies. I've even seen some local gardeners selling produce that was literally still coated with pesticide in questionable amounts. There is enough interest in local, and/or organic, and/or heirloom produce that you could likely find a lot of people interested in what you could offer. If you fill your CSA boxes with the same quality as you would expect from gift boxes, you'll keep people coming back for more.