School is Now in Session

This past Sunday, I broke my Farmer's Market "innocence".  I'm now a grizzled vet of the 10' x 10' space of parking lot in hopes of selling my goods to consumers of the Tigard area.  That's probably an exaggeration.  I certainly had a lot to learn on the first day.  So much to take in and process; it was quite overwhelming. 

The day couldn't have been more idyllic, in that it rained the entire time the market was open.  Of course, it stopped once the market closed.  The first one couldn't have happened any other way, right?  Still, thru the rain and somewhat gusty wind, I made a few sales here and there and actually made my rent.  I was delighted to reach that, given weather and my limited (re: zilch) knowledge about how to set up a space at a market.

I showed up with two tables and 20 flats of plants.  Not much in the way of signs or advertisement to be had, as I wasn't even sure what I would do.  After seeing other vendors spaces, it became clear I need to highlight my specialties in a far more robust manner. 
1) I have a ton of pepper varieties, but I left some at home (mainly the sweet varieties).  Those, of course, were the ones that people asked about.  I have to remember that most people are more fond of sweet peppers than spicy ones...unlike me.
2) I realized after browsing that my prices were a bit high compared to other vendors.  I don't need to undercut anyone, just pull in line with the other folks.
3) My organization on the tables needs some work.  I need to put the valued product like basil, tomatoes, & peppers as the first thing that people see, not sunflowers and lettuce.
4) I need to cut way back on the flowers, lettuce, and non-basil herbs.  Even with the small sample size, most people wanted (or were at least curious about) tomatoes, peppers, and basil. 

In many ways, I was lucky to have my first day be so rainy.  While it was cold and miserable standing underneath my canopy, I essentially got a free day of school.  Instead of having a crush of people on a nice sunny day, I was able to walk around and observe a bit of how I could adapt my space to better suit potential customers.  I was also able to bend the ear of a couple vendors and get some advice on how to improve as well.  All in all, it was a fantastic day.

Then, I went home and potted up more plants.  The last of the tomatoes and peppers are now outside and getting hardened off to go into a warming garden near you.  Also, lots of basil now coming into maturity.  Sweet, Mammoth Sweet, Genovese, Italian Large Leaf, Serata, Red Lettuce Leaf, Red Rubin, Purple Ruffles, Cinnamon, Thai, Indian, Christmas, Clove, Holy Red & Green, African Tree, Lemon, and Lime basils are ready (or, are very close.)

It's kind of sad, actually.  Not much left in the basement these days.  I'll plant a few more flats of greens and some squash/cukes/melons, but this really is the wind-down period for planting stuff indoors.  One by one the lights are being turned off as they aren't needed anymore.  Only 15 flats in a possible 32 spaces remain.  That will continue to shrink this week as I move more basil and marigolds out. 

Here's hoping that the weather is a bit better this weekend.  I'm ready for a crush of people.  I would love to sell out of plants.  It sure beats throwing them into the compost bin.  If you are in the neighborhood and are having a hankering for some peppers, tomatoes, basil (and/or kettle korn), come on out to the market.  It's pretty easy to find in the parking lot of Young's Funeral Home.

Take care, everyone.  Hope your week has been going well.

cheers,
Zach