small scale marketing experience/ideas?

[jessaries]

Today I had the pleasure of going to a talk given by The Sustainable Food Center. They were so positive about backyard gardeners selling at the farmer's market. He gave us tons of tips, advice, ect and recommended this website that I am trying not to get too lost in http://attra.ncat.org/, lots of great info.
I can get my notes from the car if anyone is interested? (just general how to make things look good, what to bring, expect, ect..)
At the end of the talk I asked just what he thought sold best or was worth the time to grow. Surprisingly, he said tomatoes, red and specialty. (they are everywhere here and everyone grows them) peppers, eggplants (odd varieties), cukes, but not okra!
It was fairly motivating, not that I'd pay my bills from my garden, but that I might 'make back' some of what I've put into it? We have lots of markets around here, large and small. Because I'm shy, I was thinking of trying to sell at a small one....maybe...when I have lots of something!
Oh and a good friend of mine is a chef whose never had some of the heirlooms that I'm growing . another possible source?
----if I make money I can buy MORE gardening stuff!!!! ::

[lmonter]

How fun!
I'd totally do something like that, if it weren't for a variety of things (i.e. I'm just barely getting the hang of growing enough for us, costs $500/season for a booth at the farmer's market, and you have to be on site from 7am-1pm every Saturday - I don't do mornings, at least not well). Maybe when the kids get older and I can put 'em to work...

[jessaries]

Home gardeners get a huge break at our market(s). If you sign up for a program called 'growing for sharing' (something like that) you get free compost and seeds and if you have more food than you can share with your neighbors you can sell it for free at the farmer's market. Otherwise it would cost me $15 for a booth at a big market and I could do it when I want to. Oh and if I earn more than $125 two weeks running I'd be considered a vendor and it would cost $30. $500 sounds outrageous!!!! Oh and I think the very small market up here is close to free to participate in.
I think it would be a good project for the kiddo one day.

I really feel like I'm dreaming though!

[garden-gal]

We have several roadside stands in our area. We live so far back in the country or we would set one up. If shyness is an issue, you could set one up in front of your place with a chalk board stating prices for daily produce (your surplus) and securely attach a heavy metal box to a post in concrete for the money. If it came down to it and you wanted to just get rid of the surplus, you could maybe just ask for donations. That way if someone took it that really needed it for their family and had nothing to give at the moment, you could take heart that it wasn't just thrown into the compost pile.

[nattybo]

Oh wow jessaries, I am so jealous of "food for sharing" at your local markets! The farmers markets around here are not so friendly to backyard growers. And the part I hate most is that a majority of them are not growers or even local . It pretty obvious when they are selling watermelons in like May or something totally rediculous like that with great big "LOCAL PRODUCE" signs.

Ours are alot like lmonter's and they fine you if you are not at your stall by 6:50am. One had a daily fee of $50 and the lady telling me that gave me a sly devil look and said to pay her the $50...so I gave her the finger and left (I was 19 at the time). I hate it when people try to "pull one over" b/c of whatever reason they have. So my Mom and me drove our truck down to an old demolished truck stop and sold our veggies there and made about $40 I was really shocked that the first thing to sell out was our eggplants.

Anyways...is there a link about this "food for sharing"? I would like to see if I can put a bug in someones ear around here.

[jessaries]

Man, I guess central texas is mighty progressive!!! Also it's very much
The program in real life is called "spread the harvest", unlike in my momnesia brain!!! http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org...onForm_001.pdf

They get the seeds from companies like seeds of change who have extra.

Also the good markets around here do not tolerate reselling of produce, at all. I think it's permissable to hire someone to sell your product, but that's different than buying someone else's melons and hawking them. They keep track of how much farmers sell even and if say they know a farmer (they inspect) planted 10 tomato plants and if they are selling grossly above that every week they will look into it. Or obviously out of season stuff.
I thought about just putting up a stand out front of my house, but I don't know if I would get enough traffic. (those old lemonaid stand memories!) We might do it anyways!