First you need to determine where you will be selling your produce. If you are at a farmer's market you need to understand that they are all different. What sells well changes every weekend and every season. There is no way to predict what the public wants.

People want stuff they know or stuff they've heard great things about but have never seen at the grocery store. They want extra healthy looking produce and they want it for a fair price. In some markets you can get really high prices for stuff whereas at others you have to sell cheap to move anything. Some shoppers want to try new things each week while others want the tried and true garden standards.

Don't be fooled by all the advice out there. Grow what you grow best, display it well and see what happens. Learning to sell stuff can't be learned by reading - you have to take the baby steps. Just be aware that communities change, shopping desires change, environments change, you will forever be adapting to the marketplace.

In order that you don't ask yourself this question every year you need to keep records. What did you sell, how much of it, and how much did you gross from the product. You should keep these on an each market day basis and then you'll have your annual totals. That gives you the information you need for determining what to grow and sell the next year. You will also need to know what your growing expenses were. This is all a year by year learning process so just start and keep track of things. Tom

You may do what I have done and hooked up with several organic coops. I tell them what I have and because I am local and they are bringing their product in from elsewhere, they prefer the more local and fresher product. I also found a local fruit stand and also a small local grocery store. No games played. I tell them what I have they agree to the same price all season long, and I sell everything I have. I also do not have to deal with the public or the government. I just go direct. I now have people just calling my house wanting to come over to buy direct. Yes I might get 25% less for my crops, but I eliminate giving up my weekends in hopes that I will sell everything at a farmer's market. I make my deliveries on Saturdays in the morning and that is it.

Thanks everyone for the tips!

Stephanie

Bucks, Why are you selling for 25% less than at a market? Are you making a profit? Tom

We always try to sell the very best we have to offer. We found that sweet corn sells out. Tomatoes and Peppers sell okay and green beans and summer and winter squashes sell well. Flowers sell well and peas in the pod sell well. We will be trying some Asian greens this year as well as artichokes and okra. Last year was our first year. Keeping good records of what you take and how it sold is really good advice. Also pay attention to what people are asking for and take notes.

Trianglejohn is right that predicting a market is hard to do. One week you'll have too much of item 1 and the next week every third person will want it. (If you every figure it out a hundred percent, you'll be a marketing genius!!!!)

How much do you know about the market where you plan to sell? Unless you have some idea of the normal mix of products in your particular market, it is trial and error for a couple years.

I guess the message I am trying to send out to everyone wanting to be involved with growing and selling produce or garden products is that you shouldn't take what happens to one person as some sort of across-the-board statistic for all markets.

I know people that work pretty hard for all the warm months of the year, sell at a few markets at premium prices, make decent money and take a few months off each winter and persue other interests. It works for them and I'm sure they inspire people when they give a talk at a conference or meeting. But you have to consider all the years they struggled to get to this point. All the years they borrowed money to pay their bills while the farm didn't make much. And the fact that they participate in an upscale market where premium prices are routinely collected without any problem.

If the most convenient market for you to sell at isn't such a premium outlet for your product - you won't be making premium prices. You may even struggle for a long while waiting for things to work out. You will have to weigh the costs of moving to another market or reducing the efforts you put into your products or lowing your prices and expectations.

Most of the people that I know making a living selling stuff they grew themselves have to work multiple markets to make anything near the income they would have from one normal entry level job. Most have to work a "real" job during the winter to make ends meet. Most have one person in the marriage working a full time job to keep health benefits intact.

I enjoy participating in what I like to call "open air vending" (since our market has bakers and craftsmen as well as produce), but selling is an art that can take you a while to get good at. I grow and sell plants and I'm lucky that my market has few people doing this so I don't have a lot of competition - but due to this same fact I have few customers, because historically this market was not a destination for people wanting live plants. Its a catch 22.

What sells well and what makes more money is what i look at. Sweet corn sells really well but for the amount of land it requires we make much more on tomatoes. Zuchinni to me is like taking candy from a baby. It almost grows itself and brings a good price in our neck or the woods. Since we have our own market though we don't have to compete with everyone at a farmers market.

Hi, I just joined this forum. I have been selling at farmers markets for five years. I started at a little rural one, it was OK because I wasn't really producing much, but now I sell at a larger urban market and it is much better. I would say do not plant less than 100' of anything, grow what you know grows well (I'm assuming you want to turn a hobby into a job and are not starting from scratch)then look for anything that is not in your market. I do great with beets and radishes. I think the other growers do not like to wash roots. I don't even bother with tomatoes because everyone does those. I grew parsnips last year and it was like a feeding frenzy because no one had brought them to market for years. And definitly bring only the best quality. leave the old and buggy at home.

Early spring veggies do very well for us. We sell triple-washed salad mix, spinach, radishes, green onions, green garlic, garlic, asparagus and strawberries. By high summer, everyone's garden is booming and the competition is much greater, therefore profits much lower. We also sell heirloom tomato plants in 4" pots very early in spring. We have developed a reputation for excellence, which can only be gained by being consistant with attendance and good quality produce.