Another (small) farmers market haul

16 years ago

Ooooh lucky me two farmers markets in one week!

I didnÂt get much this time Â here is my haul:

Clockwise from left: French rolls for DS #2, a bag of ÂNalo greensÂ, a bag of chocolate chip short bread cookies (supporting the locals), a container of sea asparagus, grape tomatoes and onions to make a salad with the sea asparagus.

Starting to guess where I am?

Here are some more picturesÂthe last one, should you not figure it out (and keep quiet those of you who know), should nail it for youÂ.

In no particular order, here are some pictures. These are {{gwi:1547314}}. So cute! I wish I knew what to do with them. This picture is blurry because I forgot to turn on the flash, but its purple {{gwi:1547316}}. Cool! Here is a {{gwi:1547318}}, where I got the rolls. A close up of the {{gwi:1547320}} I got.

Wow look heÂs making a {{gwi:1547322}} Neah, I didnÂt get any, but it sure smelled good.

This is the {{gwi:1547324}} seller. He was sweet and asked me to email him a photo. Did that! He gave out samples with onion and tomato and they tasted pretty good so I bought some to duplicate at ÂhomeÂ.

{{gwi:1547327}} - there were lots of lines here. We had {{gwi:1547330}} playing in the background. This {{gwi:1547334}} had a basket of three HUGE fruit, called {{gwi:1547336}}. I should have put a quarter on them to show you how bit they were! I have absolutely no clue what this {{gwi:1547339}} was but the stall owner tried to explain. She was next to the musicians so I didnÂt understand anything. Shrug.

I thought these were {{gwi:1547342}} but they werenÂt! And I forgot to go back to buy some. Waaah.

Lastly, some flowersÂI passed them by. {{gwi:1547345}} and {{gwi:1547348}}.

The one thing I had really wanted to get but they werenÂt selling any was beef andouille sausage. I had brought my gumbo fixings with me to make dinner with it, but alas I may have to go to another market on Saturday morning (everyone say poor Jessica) where he said he would for sure have some on hand for me!

If you still havenÂt figured out where I am, {{gwi:1547351}} should tell you!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (27)

lyndaluu2
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I LOVE HAWAII!!!! LOL
Wish I could be there too!!!

Linda
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Jessica, What a great blog of your market experience. I'm glad that the hurricane didn't create problems, or so it appears. How do your guys like participating in the farmers market tour?

I hope you all are having a great time, wish I was there.

Cathy
Related Discussions
Presenting yourself and you product at the farmers market.
Q
Comments (28)
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
...See More
houseplants at Farmer's Market
Q
Comments (18)
Wow - I'm really glad I found this forum. I've really enjoyed reading your posts, GW and Triangle! My husband and I have sold plants at a local Farmer's Market for 9 years. I can relate to so much of what you say. It's so true that there is no rhyme or reason to what people will buy. The plant that is our biggest seller one year may not be in demand at all the next. Also, if I try to sell what I see another vendor doing well with, it may not work for me. I keep good records from year to year and the only consistency I've found is that nothing is consistent. We do pretty well in the spring with lilacs, IF they look great and IF it isn't raining the week that they are in their prime and IF there aren't 5 other vendors selling lilacs the same week. One year we'll do great with ornamental grasses, the next year we can't give them away. We make almost all of our money in May. Our markets don't start until the first of May. Here in Oregon it might be sunny and warm in April, or rainy and cold. If it's warm, and the garden centers are all stocked early, that hurts our sales in May. If it's cold in April but warms up nicely in May, and doesn't rain on the weekends, we do great, if our crops look good. We do mostly shrubs and perennials. I tried annuals one year because it seemed like all the other vendors were doing so well with them, but for me that was more work than it was worth. I think it was too much competition. So we know we will never get rich growing plants and selling at markets. But it's a lot of fun. We have repeat customers who tell us how great the hydrangea they got from us last year is doing, and that just warms my heart. One guy who has bought from us for years even brought a photo of his honeysuckle that we sold him (no, it's not a noxious weed here in Oregon! Blackberries, that's another story....) We pay $35 a week for our space, set our plants either on the ground or on shelves (fenceboards sitting on upside down nursery pots). We only bring what we can fit in the back of our pickup. On a really good day in May we might make $500. On a typical day in June it's more like $100 and in July we're lucky to make space rent some days. But we keep going (except last Saturday, when the temp was 105!) because we like the atmosphere, and because there is always a possibility that even on a hot summer day, someone may come along and buy $75 worth of plants. You just never know. We did finally, last year, put up a 12' x 15' greenhouse and put in a mist system. (It was a tax write off! - Plus I've always wanted one) Now we do alot of our own propagation, although I still buy some liners/plugs from a wholesale nursery. I also buy unusual perennials or grasses at a local garden center or from other market vendors and divide them. For next year I'm growing a really colorful assortment of small ornamental grasses. (Hakonechloa, Black Mondo, Blue Oat Grass, Carex 'Cappuccino', Japanese Blood Grass...) I don't know if they will sell or not but I like them. On thing I have learned is that most sales at Farmer's Markets are impulse sales. Although there are a few customers who come to the market to find something specific, most will buy the plant that looks so amazingly great that they can't go home without it. It's hard for us to sell anything that doesn't have a flower on it. That makes it hard to sell summer blooming plants, because plants don't sell well in summer, and they aren't in bloom when people want to buy plants. So we have focused on growing mostly plants that will be in their prime in May. Probably about 50 - 70% of our plants are ones that look best in spring and early summer. We grow a smaller percentage of plants that bloom late just so that we will have something to fill the truck with in summer. I have also thought of selling on ebay. I know there are alot of restrictions on interstate shipping of plants, but I think the local Dept of Ag website would have all the necessary information. I've also considered selling seeds. I have some interesting plants which can be seed grown, and I think collecting and shipping seeds would be easy. Bottom line, our Farmer's Market business supports my gardening habit! Good luck with yours.
...See More
Farmers' Market & Lunch
Q
Comments (5)
Sharon, I have got to get to Tenerife some day. It just looks like heaven. What a pretty market. I was at the Reading Terminal Market in Philaelphia last week and wished I had a camera with me. It's a very special place, but has more of a gritty city quality than your spot. How nice to be able to just walk up the street to a charming cafe. Thanks for sharing these glimpses of your life.
...See More
Farmer's Market with photo!
Q
Comments (15)
And I'll keep the soapbox warm.... I've always believed very strongly in supporting local (and US) agriculture as much as we can. Today I talked with an organic farmer just north of me: she had farm canned salsa, marinara sauce, tomatoes, and seafood sauce processed in their own commercial kitchen and from produce grown on their land. She even had photos of their kitchen because it is very new. Some farm signs said "we only sell what we grow ourselves." There were several stands selling beef raised on their land, ostrich, cheeses, and more farmers' market participants are partnering with each other and promote those partnerships. The Honeybee Harvest folks supply honey to the Goat Lady Dairy farm to be used in some of their cheese spreads. Teresa....down off the soap box for the moment! :o)
...See More
compumom
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aloha! I wish you had bought some breadfruit, I've always wanted to taste one! Have a great time!
Gina_W
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aloha! How's the surf?
Solsthumper
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mahalo.
That's a remarkable haul EJ; btw, that ugly fruit picture is a little blurry, but it looks quite a bit like Noni fruit.

Have fun terrorizing the locals.

Sol
jessyf
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yeah Cathy we dodged that hurricane. I was sweating bullets up until the night I left. I figurd 'a bad day in hawaii is better than a good day at work' LOL. It sprinkled on us a bit the day we got there and that was it!

Ellen: breadfruit next time. Just for you. You pay me back if I choke.

Gina, I'm staying away from the beaches for another day or two!

Sol, I'll try. I can't believe I didn't buy more, I thought I had! Oh well there is always tomorrow's market.
lsr2002
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
POOR, POOR Jessica, such a hard life having to go again to a wonderful market on Saturday! Your pictures are great, thanks for the flowers; wish we could all be there.

Don't forget to post what you're cooking and everything else.

Have a wonderful time.

Lee
annie1992
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I agree, poor Jessica, having to hang around the farmer's markets in Hawaii, what a tough darned job. LOL

Sea asparagus? Another thing I've never heard of, what did it taste like. And did Sons #1 and #2 eat it?

Annie
granjan
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Great report. Looks like fun. I want the ginger flowers!
dgkritch
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aw, poor Jessy.

NOT! NOT! NOT!

How's the "house"?
I'm glad the hurricane didn't get ya! I've got another quilting friend over there right now too! She's from Arizona. Must be something about you southwesterners and storms!! :+)

Have fun and post LOTS more pics!
Deanna
wizardnm
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Darn you Jessy...you are where I would just love to be!!

Have fun! Keep posting.....

Nancy
sheshebop
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I almost called you today to see if you were able to go. I was worried about that hurricane/storm. I hope you and the guys are having a wonderful time. Do lots of fun stuff and take lots of pix. We will enjoy the travelogue. I love the Farmers Market. It looks so...personal maybe: more personal than most of them. Have fun!
msazadi
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh Jessy...lovely. Those Thai eggplants are terrific cut in segments and curried. Maybe add some slivered chicken or tofu. Hot and healthy. ( I know you're the heat wuss...)

I've never had sea asparagus; looks good.

But what do I want from that array???? The ginger flowers...oh a great memory. That and jasmine garlands.
Maureen ( and yes...Oh Poor Baby!)
riverrat1
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I said lots of prayers and blew and blew that Hurricane Flossie away from your island. Whew!

Great blog! I know your having a great time. Keep the pictures coming.

Oh yeah, how's the shelter?
socks
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing them.

Where were the farmers' markets in Hawaii?
User
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Glad you are enjoying Hawaii Jessica. Thanks for sharing the market with us. I love seeing other farmers markets. You have been in three different time zones this week with a 6 hour difference. Hope you are getting some sleep.

Ann
Carol Schmertzler Siegel
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
hey, I hope you are well rested, don't have a meeting coming up next week or something? A little birdie told me :)

Looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing! Did you have any shaved ice with the beans? Saw that on a tv show and it looked interesting! Sno cones with beans?
teresa_nc7
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
What!!! No lovely "pair" of coconuts held up about "chest" hight??? You're falling down on the job, EJ!

Now I want a Sno cone! You and your boys have a great rest of the trip. Take care....safe travels.....

Teresa
petaloid
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm so envious of you -- have extra fun in honor of those of us who stayed home!
jessyf
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
(I'm here and I've taken some more pictures I'm just dealing with sharks - AKA kids who also want the computer!!!!)
lakeguy35
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hang Loose EJ......that was the cool slang back in the 90's....thanks for sharing the pics and your vaction with us!!!!

David
jessyf
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This is {{gwi:1547353}}
annie1992
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My, my, Jessica, what a lovely pair of.....avacados? That's not how the song in my head went.....

Annie
Carol Schmertzler Siegel
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Those are big avocado's :)
diana55
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aloha Jessy !!!!
sheshebop
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
So,Jessy. Where are the rest of the pictures? What';s going on? Are the boys having a good time? What have you done so far?
Sherry
jessyf
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
(sherry the kids have been monopolizing the computer! I've been able to check email and peruse the forum but them sharks over my shoulder are annoying LOL)

Another (small) farmers market haul

Comments (27)

lyndaluu2

mustangs81

Related Discussions

compumom

Gina_W

Solsthumper

jessyf
Original Author

lsr2002

annie1992

granjan

dgkritch

wizardnm

sheshebop

msazadi

riverrat1

socks

User

Carol Schmertzler Siegel

teresa_nc7

petaloid

jessyf
Original Author

lakeguy35

jessyf
Original Author

annie1992

Carol Schmertzler Siegel

diana55

sheshebop

jessyf
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Another (small) farmers market haul

Comments (27)

Related Discussions

jessyfOriginal Author

jessyfOriginal Author

jessyfOriginal Author

jessyfOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

jessyf
Original Author

jessyf
Original Author

jessyf
Original Author

jessyf
Original Author