Farmers Market Report Week 6

11 years ago

It rained and I mean it really rained. I got there and it held off just long enough to get set up. The we had a thunderstorm, lightning and all... The gal just down from me started to set up then decided to pack up and leave. I saw several others pull up to unload, then drive off. I stuck it out, since we were set up. David met me there but didn't bring anything this week, he said his tomatoes were being very slow and he really didn't have enough to worry about. He did help me set up however.

A few early customers braved the rain but most waited it out. By about 9:30AM the sky was getting lighter and it was just misty. By about 10AM people started to show up and it turned out pretty good. I didn't sell out everything but I did manage to beat my total $$ from last week. I had doubled the number of pretzel rolls, raspberry bars and cinnamon rolls from last week. Had very few leftovers, just some sugar cookies (the families with kids weren't as brave about being there) and there was about 4 raspberry bars, 6 pretzel rolls, and 3 peach pie muffins left. Sold out of cinnamon rolls and Asiago bread. Feeling really good about it in spite of the rain. I had several return customers who said they were glad I was there.

About noon the wind really whipped up and I almost lost the canopy. David had said to call him if I needed help tearing down and I was going to do it by myself but.....when the canopy blew, it bent some of the braces and so I made the phone call. He was already on his way (big sigh of relief). Not sure how many shows the canopy has left in it..

Here are the pictures I managed to take as soon as it cleared enough to come out from under cover.

My goodies...

Looking down the row, there were about half as many vendors in our row as usual.

The sidewalk row... the guy with all the sweetcorn had to have been soaked thru...but he sold all his corn by about 11AM and left for home...

A gloomy view of the harbor this week..

Just two more markets before Labor Day, schools here don't start until after that. There will be a lull then until color season...

Nancy

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Comments (9)

lindac
11 years ago
Just wondering what you do with the stuff that didn't sell? like the pretzel rolls and the peach pie-lets?

Your venue is lovely!!....You are lucky to have a place that people would visit even though there isn't a market there that day.
Linda c
mustangs81
11 years ago
Nancy, It took courage to stick it out under the conditions, I'm glad it paid off for you. I hope the regulars appreciated that you were one of the few there for them.
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I love this thread! Mostly because when we started selling at Farmers' Markets we couldn't find anything and felt like we searched everywhere for supplies, techniques, etc. We ended up starting our own little e-commerce site that caters to small-scale vendor selling at Farmers' Markets (link in my signature). A few techniques that worked best for us was: Cleanliness! We always have a clean table and tablecloth. Clear and professional signing! (I've seen people that just write onto a square of brown cardboard) Don't forget to label your products too! Not everyone can tell the difference between straight neck squash and crook neck squash... Keep your pricing simple! I have an article here about pricing. BE FRIENDLY!! (someone already mentioned it but it is worth mentioning again!!). Be proud of your farm, and your produce, and your wares ( or whatever it is your selling) and don't be shy about talking about it, how its grown/made, where you farm/shop is, etc. People are generally curious. And....if they are shipping at a Farmers Market they probably deep down want to break away from their own lives to start their own little farm... Hope this help and happy farming, Jeremy www.elwellsupplies.com A Farmers' Market Supply Store
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Waving at you wizardnm! Everything looks delicious and first rate! If a customer wants half a dozen pretzel rolls, do you put them in paper or plastic bags? I like the idea of the deli trays - I've saved tons of them here at the office. What a pretty setting for a bustling farmers' market. Thanks for sharing with us. Teresa
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I asked about the bread and it was made with dried cranberries - they may have been plumped a bit in warm water. This bread would make great French toast, but it wasn't really sweet or fruity/nutty. It was very good with the chicken salad and I enjoyed it toasted with butter this morning with my scrambled egg and bacon. Here is a link to the recipe I found that I am going to try first. Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe4Living
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Nancy, the peach pies look beautiful, but I'll bet they are labor intensive? Could you make a large cobbler with a top crust and maybe some struesel crumbs on top then portion out two servings in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap? Have you considered tea breads - mini loaves of lemon bread, banana bread, applesauce walnut bread, etc. could be made mid-week and would hold well in the fridge until market day. This type of bread is usually very moist and will hold longer than yeast breads. Last year my friendship starter breads sold well. The starter keeps the loaf very moist - you don't have to call the breads "friendship" or Amish Friendship as people who don't bake have probably not heard of them and might not understand the concept. And have you tried mixing up your pretzel roll dough a day or two ahead and keeping it chilled until ready to bake? Are the three large loaves the asiago bread? Does one recipe produce 3 loaves that size? I'd try making four slightly smaller loaves and price them a little less. Also, I would try making a recipe of the sugar cookies mid-week, then wrap them well with plastic wrap, put them in a zip bag or container with a lid and store them in a cool place until market day. You could make a test batch and see how they taste to you several days later. The cookies could also be frozen on the day they are made and pulled out the day before market day. Or, make the cookie dough ahead and freeze then bake the day before market day? You are getting a feel now for what sells well for you and what your customers repeatedly buy - that's good. But think about how you can begin your baking earlier in the week and try new items that can be made ahead. Do you have a flyer on the table offering to make special orders? When I did this I sold by the recipe - i.e. an entire recipe of yeast rolls or 4 loaves of my Amish bread recipe. I would offer the customer a slight discount for ordering the entire recipe and I would tell them how to freeze the breads. This way they could order ahead to be sure what they wanted was held (out of sight) for them. I have some great recipes if you want those. Teresa
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lsr2002
11 years ago
I love seeing/reading about your market days and I think it's wonderful that customers came looking for you in threatening weather. You baked a lot -I wish I could have purchased some of your remaing baked things.

Here's hoping the weather is perfect for the next weeks.
wizardnm
Original Author
11 years ago
I usually give my friend David most of the leftovers, he enjoys them. I did bring home the extra peach pie muffins, Kim took two for work today and I had one for breakfast.

I forgot to mention, there was a small cruise in the harbor yesterday (around 100) and I had a nice rush on sales then. I gave out samples of the raspberry bars and I think everyone that tried a sample bought at least one. They also liked the sugar cookies. My cinnamon rolls were already sold out by that time.

We will get many bus tours that stop in town during color season, they love to pick up things to nibble on. Charlevoix has been on the color tour stop list for many years.

Nancy
centralcacyclist
11 years ago
Your tables always look so inviting. And everything sounds delicious. I hope the weather is more kind next week.

E
annie1992
11 years ago
Nancy, that was a good storm, wasn't it? Well, good for me here at the farm, not so good for the market. I'm glad it calmed down and you did well, though.

It seems impossible that we have only two more weeks until Labor Day. And, like David, my tomatoes are slow. A jungle of vines and lots of green ones, but nothing appreciable to can yet.

I hope you have blue skies next week!

Annie
User
11 years ago
I love your reports Nancy and admire your determination and commitment! It's so much more difficult to get good farmers market produce up here than it was in the city. I really miss the markets.

I'm hoping to get some canning done this week. I am soooooooo far behind....as in haven't even started. I'm going to a big one in Bracebridge tomorrow so here's hoping there are some cukes and dill!
pattypeterson2208
11 years ago
I would think a lot of vendors did not set up because you lose all your profits if you have to buy a new canapy or worse have it blow into someone. Then there is always a chance of lighting strikes. I have a dent and a big scratch on my truck when canapy blew up over the top of truck. I use more weights now safety first. If you have an easy-up you can order new parts. Patty
User
11 years ago
Nancy, Some how I missed this weeks Market report. Had to go looking for it. I look forward to your update.

Does the market continue after Labour Day?

~Ann

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Farmers Market Report Week 6

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