got it :-) Lucy

This will be my final posting for this year on this thread. I sold well this past weekend and since it is getting so hot and the market is slowing down I have decided to quit selling and focus on setting up better propagation areas and growing areas at home (and work in the home gardens!) This past weekend was a three day holiday weekend which normally is not a good selling weekend around here. Most people are off to the beach but with gas prices so high it appears many people stayed home. So I sold better than this time last year. I moved a lot of brugmansias (one guy bought 4!), a few castor beans and whole lot of zinnias (mostly those two tone ones - whirlygig or whatever it is called). I think that with better planning I could continue to sell through June but because I was out of town for most of April I got behind in my planting and sowing. Next year I am going to focus on herbs and unusual patio plants and possibly buy some ads in the smaller local papers to let people know that I am there and selling stuff the local garden centers don't carry. I am also toying with the idea of setting up small herb displays at some of the ethnic markets in this area. Another idea I have is to grow seasonal crops directly in plastic bulb crates and haul the whole thing to the market and let people pick their own. Kind of a garden on wheels. The novelty of letting them build their own salad mix or herbal medley might improve sales - plus you can't dispute the freshness when you're picking it yourself. This also saves me the time and hassle of picking/washing/packaging. Now if I can train the customers to pay more for pick your own (with them doing all the work) I will have hit the jackpot. I'm looking at salad blends for the winter/early spring, strawberries for spring and basil/herbs for summer. Things I have observed this spring: I really made the bulk of my money from regular customers. Regulars spent on average $20 per visit to my booth. I just didn't have enough regulars but I had more this year than I had last year. Customers requesting something unusuall really did show up at future dates when I told them I would have it ("I'll have some ready in 2 weeks" kinda thing), and they often spent more money when I finally had that special plant they were looking for. They often would buy all of it when I finally got it there. Some people are determined to get a better deal and will ask for a price break no matter what. I only consider discounts if the customer is spending more than $10 and even then it is rare. Even when I explain my policy, they will ask and ask again and again. Even when they are shopping with their elderly mother who just bought a lot of my stuff without asking for a price break, they will ask for a discount on their one item and they'll ask again after I tell them no. Some people..... It really doesn't matter what the other guys are selling their plants for. If you have what they are looking for and it looks healthy and worth the amount you're asking they will buy it. Price things the amount you think they will move and make sure you're making money. In other words, if your product looks like a $10 product you'll probably be able to sell it from $8 to $12. But if your product looks like a 50 cent product you will have trouble moving it even for a dollar. People don't go to open air markets to find a car load of cheap plants. Most often they are just there to look at everything. They are seeking inspiration. Inspire them with a good display of healthy or interesting plants and in the future when they really need a plant they will remember you and seek you out. I still have no clue over what will sell and what won't. Just when I think that "no one will buy THAT!" it sells. There are as many reasons that someone will want something as there cultivars of plants worth growing. Good luck

Oops -- thought I had!!! I intended to. Got it from one of the Ravenhill Herb Farm cookbooks and it was TDF. But actually, I think you could take any ice cream recipe and if you heat the milk, steep basil in it for 10 to 15 minutes and proceed as you normally would for your ice cream. I think you could also buy a jarred hot fudge product to pour over if you wanted to simplify your life. Teresa -- I write food/lifestyle column that is published in two newspapers and I also freelance some. I have a blog (lflinderhof.com) and do teach cooking classes just because I want to and I so enjoy it. But my favorite are the herb classes -- for my passion is cooking but my love is herbs and half my back garden is herbs -- sadly, we have four seasons and during winter there are slim pickings from the garden. Going to a derby party today -- am making "mint julep cookies" -- last year I made them in rounds but this year I remembered I have a "Maker's Mark" cookie cutter and I am going to try using that and drizzling red dyed white chocolate over the neck of the cookie. If I'm successful, I'll post -- if you don't see a post, you know I wasn't successful! (LOL!) Here is the basil ice cream recipe. Martha BASIL ICE CREAM WITH BITTER CHOCOLATE SAUCE (Makes 2 - 2 1/2 c.) 2 c. milk 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1 c. basil leaves 4 egg yolks 1 cup sugar Bring the milk, vanilla bean and basil to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 10 to 15 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy. Pour the milk and basil mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk well. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 5 to 7 minutes. Strain and cool. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturerâÂÂs direction. Bitter Chocolate Sauce Makes 1 cup 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 T. butter 2 T. white corn syrup 6 to 8 T. sugar 3/4 c. milk pinch of salt Melt the chocolate and butter over hot water. Blend in the corn syrup and sugar. Add the milk and salt. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve warm or cool on ice cream.

By all means....NO, do not buy anything Viking. I worked there for over 10 years in management and the products are absolutely inferior. The company does NOT care about quality, they care about quantity. They will build and ship a broken product (well aware that it will fail in the customer's home, and ship it anyway). It's strictly ran by a couple of elite upper guys and if you buck what they say, you're fired. Just to give you an idea, we ran out of broiler pans (this is a part that goes in all ovens). I stopped the production line. One of the "elites" walked by and asked "why is the line off". I informed him that we were out of broiler pans. He said "You turn that line BACK ON and ship those ranges." Before doing so, I typed up a note that said "Dear customer, at the time your range was built, we were out of broiler pans. This only affects the broiler function. Please call us at 800-xxxxxxxx and we will gladly ship you the part at no cost." --- I then placed a copy of this note in each range. The "elite manager" walked by again, noticed the printout and asked "What the hell is this? Remove this paperwork and ship the ranges." This is only the tip of the iceberg. Oh, and ASKO does NOT make Viking dishwashers (anymore). They are made by Viking in Greenwood, MS and guess what? They just had a recall on them for catching on FIRE! You can see this recall info if you go to Viking's website (home page), look at the very bottom, you will see a link that says "Safety recall" in blue text. There, you will also find recalls on other products including about 25,000 refrigerators which had VERY heavy doors that fell off and injured several people. Proof's in the pudding........ stay away from the "elephant with lipstick".