Tricia, that just sounds "silly". Seems like the farmers would relish the opportunity to say "the early birds got the..apples today."

I hope you get all your ducks in a row before you head out; seems like you have encountered a unusual number of roadblocks to your well thought out plan.

I hope all goes well at JH.

With the expansion of farmers trying organic I guess the business knowledge end hasn't caught up. If they are very new to it and/or even selling at Market they probably are feeling uncomfortable about pricing and cultivating customers.
Sounds like a business class niche! Teach farmers the business end of farmers markets.

Sounds like you had an entertaining day out and about though which is good.

Hope all goes well at JH too.

Cathy, it is silly but apparently not to them. We have learned our lesson. This is the type of farmer's market where people walk around once/twice looking at all the goodies & then pick one special onion and, maybe, a prized single beet to place in their cloth shopping bag for tonight's dinner. Not the type market to purchase in bulk. Live & learn.

We have 3 extra days to get ready for JH since we won't be putting up apples! Thanks for the well wishes.

/t

Strange...here, they would gladly sell everything to one person.
Are there no, at the farm, farm markets out in the country?

Nancy

We also stopped by here trying to get cider. Clydes' is just a couple miles from the house, in Mystic. Learned another lesson...don't go to Clydes's on a holiday weekend. We couldn't get near the place. Don would have had to push my transporter 1/2 mile. :(

DH is going to go back alone mid-week & get cider to freeze.

/t

Here is a link that might be useful: Steam Powered Cider Mill

That's so odd. Not sure if you'll have time to do any shopping while you're in Baltimore, but we have a great farmer's market!

I understand where the dealers are coming from. If they have nothing to sell many customers won't come back the next week.
I learned a long time ago that when I want bushels of stuff to go late in the day....and they will sell me all that's left for a very resonable price.

Sow hat are you having done at JH.....and who's going to keep us updated?
Linda C

Tricia - Though tempted, I'm not going to go off on the so-called farmers markets around here. They seem little more than an opportunity to overpay for ugly, bruised produce that may or may not be organic or otherwise more healthy than the stuff at the supermarket.

More importantly, I want to wish you luck at JH. I've been thinking about "October" ever since you posted about your acceptance into the program. I hope your experience benefits both you and their research. Please keep us posted.

I agree with lindac, I myself have gotten pretty miffed to travel to the closest Farmers Market maybe 1/2 - 1 hr after opening and be told at each stand "sold out". I don't blame them but I admit unless I can be there at opening I know there isn't much sense in going at all. Good luck at JH.

Well, people are sure different in other parts of the country, here we are very businesslike. If I open at 10 am and you come and want everything I have, I sell it all to you. As Nancy said, first come, first served.

That said, I seldom see anything being sold out, the farmers are well stocked and well prepared, usually have some business eperience and education or they couldn't make a living farming, that's for sure. More likely if I come at the end of the day I get really good deals because the farmers don't want to take it back home.

I usually go straight to the "on the farm" kind of farmer's markets Nancy mentioned, there's always more, they just go out and pick some.

It just makes me happier and happier that I live in Michigan instead of somewhere that the farmers don't even have enough sense to sell what they have for sale when they get the chance.

II think I'd find a real farm market where people have more good sense, sheesh.

Annie

You might ask to get a business card or phone number from the vendor, then call during the week and pre-order what you want - that would give them time to calculate a price for you and hold back your order. Of course, you must do your part and show up on the appointed day and time to pick up your order, but I have no doubt that you would fulfill your end of the bargain. :o)

Some vendors are more business savvy than others, for sure.

Teresa

I think your DH set this up. Called ahead and told everyone not to sell to you. Can't say I blame him - four days of canning doesn't sound like much fun to me, either! ;-)

We have people like those farmers with inflexible, rigid, one-track minds; unfortunately they all work for the Motor Vehicle Department or the local Zoning Department.

dcarch

Wow! That would be an entirely foreign experience here.
I find that some of our organic growers are somewhat overpriced, but more than willing to sell anything they have.
I was at the Farmer's Market in Tigard (Triciae, I KNOW you know where that's at!!) and found some great deals!
I didn't need much since I grow so many things, but I still hauled home:
4 large Ancho peppers ($1.00)
2 large Red Bell peppers ($1.50)
a bunch of 3 large leeks ($2.00)
a nice head of butterhead lettuce ($1.00)
a bunch of enormous radishes ($.50)

Yep, my fridge is stocked with yummy salad stuff and I spent all of $6.00.

This one particular vendor has the best prices, beautiful produce and the farmer is actually there and can answer any questions! Love it.

I could almost ship the produce you're looking for cheaper!
Not in time though, darn it.

Sorry you had such trouble.
Deanna

Good luck at JH, tricia!

jude

Actually it is total business sense if this market was in an uban area. I live in one and go to them but they are totally different than a farm market that sells in bulk. They are not selling to people who put up produce, they are trying to get repeat customers who come in every week to buy a little of this and that for the table. If you want produce to put up, go directly to the farm, or establish a relationship with one of the farmers, call ahead and they will bring in extra to deliver to you. I do this when I want produce for canning. Or, there are actually produce auctions where farmers take the stuff they can't sell as top grade, and that's where you can get some buys if there is a glut. That's the way to put up food economically. You can also buy stuff at a greengrocer although that stuff will almost always be from the west, south or Mexico. Could be good, could not be good, depends on the growing conditions in that part of the country and the shipping circumstances. I imagine it is different in rural parts of the country like where Annie lives and where I was brought up, although it is getting harder and harder to find farms where they grow in bulk, particularly if you want organic. Perhaps a CSC, but urban organic farms are usually small because they are near the urban areas, and they survive by charging prices the upscale urbanites will pay. I'm sure that's what she meant by a "fair" price. The upscale price is probably a 400% markup, but that's the price you pay for farm fresh brought to you in the city. To pay less, you have to go to the farms. Yes, it is tragi-comic, and it does concern me that we have come so far away from basic sustenance. Less than 3% of the population is involved in agriculture and even that figure may drop when the present generation dies out. I imagine it is rather disconcerting when you're idea of a farm market is trucks filled with just picked stuff. Nowdays, the best business plan for a fruit or vegetable farmer is to grow specialty crops, and to sell chi chi varieties in small batches to those who can pay. However, many of the folks I know are more than happy to sell to you for preserving if you let them know what's going on and they can make arrangements outside of the market scene.

As a side note, some friends of mine joined a CSA and started to get suspicious when their produce allotment every week looked so carpy, and yet when they went to the farm the stuff in the fields looked pretty good. As it went, the farmer was taking the best stuff to the city farm markets where they could get top dollar for it, and giving the leftovers to the CSA members. It's very hard to come up with a great business model in farming, there are so mnay variables that are almost impossible to predict and control.

Good info, Lpink. We are not really urban though. Organic farms are mostly small & sell at farmers markets & have no sales at their farms.

The squash farmer did show up today with acorn squash. Same $1/lb. as at the market but he delivered. Very nice folks & I guess we're on their delivery route now. They don't grow apples though. The apple lady phoned this afternoon with her "fair" price of $32/bushel (about 42 lbs.) She's bringing them tomorrow from Plainfield.

DH is taking a community creative writing class (non fiction) & he wrote about our market experience for class tonight. There are 5 others in the class & they all volunteered help Friday to get our produce put up (one is just 16 y.o.). I'm amazed at the kindness! It should be a fun day.

The rest of what we'd hoped to put up won't happen this year. Oh well, we shouldn't eat many potatoes anyway...lol.

You never know how something will turn out!

/tricia

Tricia - Unless I'm completely misreading your posts or if my math is fuzzy after a long day, first the "nice lady" wouldn't sell you the organic MacIntosh at her original price of $3/lb, fearing it was unfairly expensive. Then she wouldn't sell them to you at your husband's suggested price of $2.33/lb. Now she calls you up with an offer for $.76/lb. All this, mind you in a market where NON-organic Macs go for $1.33/lb at your local Stop & Shop Supermarket (based on Peapod web site.)

Personally, if I were concerned about supporting the local farmer I would place a call to the owners and warn them that this nice lady is going to singlehandedly drive them out of business faster than the local land taxes ever will.

Nice rest of the story though, with the volunteer help! Good luck canning, and again, good luck at JH.

I told you originally, FOAS, that these people are not business minded! :) PLUS, she's delivering to our door. Or, and I suppose this is a possibility...there are not as many pounds of apples in her "bushels" as I'm expecting?? We discussed "price per bushel" not "per pound". I did the math on the per pound price. Maybe, she's got some cute little "designer" bushels? We'll see this afternoon. I thought a bushel was a standardized measurement (about 42 lbs.)...did I goof? Always possible with my meds. :(

/tricia

Too funny... whatever you get, hope you like them apples!