I too have absolutely no desire or plans to grow/sell corn, except for possibly a patch of ornamental corn for my own decorative use. Even then I will plant it far, far away from the rest of my garden.

Reasons? Several varieties of local sweet corn are overly abundant in my area - from supermarkets, Farmers' Markets, roadside markets, & even off the backs of trucks parked by the side of the road. It's good & it's cheap.

And I have personally found that growing sweet corn in the garden plot is hanging out a neon sign & big dinner bell for every critter for miles around. I so far haven't had any problems in my unfenced garden from deer, groundhogs, raccoons, skunks, etc., etc., but know darn well that won't be the case if I start growing corn. It is candy to everything.

cucumbers, zucchini, and winter squashes would be good to get you going, along with the tomatoes.
I grow some beans because, even if it takes a while to pick, it is a sure bet, plus brings customers to your table and then they buy other things...I pick on a low (8-12 inch) stool at the end of the day when I am too tired to do much else. The stool sits straddling the plants in the row, so I pick between my legs and it saves on the back. Or, you could grow the pole types which can be harvested standing.
Garlic is also a good crop, but you need to start it in October-ish for next season.
RE: the local store saying they'd like to buy produce. You need to find out what they want specifically, how much they might sell, and what price they are willing to pay for it. If you don't know the price, it may be all a waste of time (and money).
RE: giving away your excess. All those that you gift with produce will then never become customers, as they'll just wait until you have extra. It might be better to either can/freeze it for yourself, or give it to a food pantry or institution (nursing home, etc.).
RE: the area is not rich. Maybe not. Neither is mine, but our farmers market vendors charge a price to make a profit. A community is a mix of poor/medium/rich people. You need to gear your produce for the upper two groups. If you want to donate to the poor, that is good, but don't lower your prices so that you go out of business because you are charging less than it costs (including your time).
Various kinds of leaf, romaine and butterhead lettuces sell well if you have an early market, but are more difficult during the warmer part of the season.
Special onions sometime go over well...sweet types and red ones. Or leeks.
Find a niche that no one is filling and try to be the expert in that area. It might be specialty greens, melons, whatever.
Good luck. It'll be an interesting and learning year for you.
Ann

I am in Zone 5 also with a hoop house I am able to grow heirloom tomatoes, peppers and cukes. I also sell beets, summer squash and green beans. My friend brings garlic, peppers, green beans and Candy and Wala Wala onions. We only sell in August and September at Farmer's Market. This allows us to sell the things we really want to and have full tables.

Heirloom everything sell well for us. Tomatoes, of course, but also squash, melons, peppers, eggplant, greens, ect...

Try rat tailed radishes! Yummy!

What varieties of squash, melons, peppers, eggplant, greens and etc. do you buy? What are rat tailed radishes like and where could I buy the seed? So far I am mostly just buying seeds here and there at the local stores. I see quite a few marked heirloom but that doesn't really mean too much to me from a seed company. Most of my heirloom tomato seeds came from trading, ebay purchases and kind souls sending them. I also started out planting store bought seeds such as early girl, oregon spring, yellow pear and gardener's delight. Thanks again for any and all info. Shirley (waiting anxiously for warmer weather with well over 100 tomato seedling already started with more planted)
ps. thinking of starting my cukes and squash inside. Last year I direct planted some and also purchased some from local nurseries. I was wondering if you pros put floating row covers on curcubits. Last year I had very few cukes due to the dreaded cucumber beetles. I managed to fight them enough to keep squash and pumpkins going but the poor cucumbers did very poorly. I love cucumbers so unhappy about not getting very many. Are floating rowcovers worth the cost? Where do you get them the most inexpensively? Lots of ?'s but I am sure you pros know all the tricks of protecting your plants for the least amount of money!

Yellow straightneck and crookneck squash sell well for me as long as they are not too big. They get tough and big seeds. Some sell them at 4 inches. I prefer 6-8 inches. Zuchinni sells well here to the retired that only want 1 or 2 not bushels.

I trade for Heirloom tomato seeds and have had good luck with Johnnnys Seed and Tomato Growers. I have 85 plants now and 50 peppers that probably won't be able to plant out in the hoop house until May 1. I haven't had problem with cuke beetles but do have problems with flea beetles. With pickling cukes you need to pick twice a week so you need a customer base that will take them on Tuesday if you only sell Farmer's Market on Saturday. They do not hold. Though there are people who will buy pickling cukes for salad especially some of the little old ladies as they don't have a lot left over. But I do tell them they were not picked that morning if they weren't - it makes a difference in good pickles.

If you decide to raise new varieties to meet perceived needs, also raise some solid standbys that you've raised successfully in the past. Cuostralee has always made a crop for me; with them in the ground, I can take a chance of a new variety.

The other posts make the point--do market research and target it. The ladies looking for pickling cucumbers? Almost anything can be pickled, but a few varieties of cucumbers are particularly well-suited. If they're your targeted customers, then you'll need one of those.

Research your market. Determine your varieties and amounts. And then develop your plan. And a backup to the plan. And a backup to the backup.

You don't get to pick the cucumbers at the optimum small size and they keep growing. Can you sell the larger cucumbers for slicing?

You have an over-abundance of small cucumbers. Can you find an alternative market? Perhaps a restaurant or another small grocery. Is a roadside stand a possibility? Will your family use them if you preserve them yourselves?

Those people who are waiting for the excess--can you trade with them? How many cucumbers would your mechanic think would equal an oil change?

If the cucumbers keep growing, what do you do if you can't sell the large, yellowing cukes? Do you have chickens? Does your neighbor have chickens? Could you trade excess cukes as chicken feed for eggs? Will you save the seeds? Can you sell the seeds themselves? Do you have a compost heap as the final choice?

Good luck. And remember, DO NOT GIVE PRODUCE AWAY.

Ray

some markets go ga ga over basil other markets crave okra
yard long are much more efficient to pick and might have
novelty value. one advantage ive found with the farmers mar-
ket-i can grow small test plots and see how me and the cust-
omers like them. me makes a big differance. i like producing
basil and dont much care for producing okra. with mushrooms
i was able to market very inconsistant amounts while refine-
ing my technique.