I was also wondering this, since I will be setting up my first market booth this summer. I know that I would buy unusual peppers, and I live in a small rural town. I have been to two farmer's markets in neighboring small towns, and it seems like almost everyone has green bells and jalapenos and bananas... but I always veer toward booths that have something different. I like to make chiles relleno, so I like any peppers that are great for that purpose.

I guess you could try to cover both bases and see how the unusual varieties sell, while keeping some of the old standby types as a backup.

I don't really have any recommendations of types, sorry. I am pretty new to this!'
-Shawna

Hello to both of you...I would urge to to grow a couple DIFFERENT varieties of the old standby's... go through your catalogs and find a stand out ... like of a really solid bell pepper such as Fat N Sassy. Sell Lilac Bells and White ones as well. Then on your hotter.... have a few of the regulars like bananas so you can offer the same as your competitor, but also order a packet of Anaheims, habaneros, serranos, and anchos. When you get ready to sell, make a sign explaining what they are and what they are good for. Once you sell some of these your first year, add a few more the next. Your client base will grow and your variety will grow as well... word gets around fast when you have the "good" peppers!
I would order a few more seeds on the standard bells than the others... start on the light side with the others.
Hope this was helpful!
DD

I found my best sales were when I had red/yellow ripe sweet bell peppers. Bright colors attract customers. The downside is that you have to wait longer and may have a little more losses carrying them to ripeness. Try some varieties specially suited for selling ripe.

I say go for variety. Nobody ever gets very far in any business trying to do what others are doing. I started selling peppers at a farmers market over 25 years ago. Just five or six kinds at first and added a couple varieties each year just for fun. You will want to know something about what you are growing because when people see something new they have lots of questions. Now I'm " the pepper guy" at the market but only one of many selling peppers.

Last year I grew 61 varieties of peppers. Set out 4200 plants. Here's a photo of some one night last year just before I loaded them on the truck for the market.

And a couple photos of my stall at the market about 6:00AM before it got busy.

From another angle.

WOW VERY NICE!...THANX 4 SHARING

Elrem2002 -
WOW!!! What pictures! Makes my eyes and mouth water, and my back hurt.
Are you using a green house to grow your peppers? You have brought me hope. My hubby and I have been aruing about me being in the right zone to grow peppers. If you can do it in 5 I can surly do it in 8.

thanks!

Gorgeous!!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

I know I could never grow THAT many, but wow! How colorful and wonderful!! And I like how you have everything clearly labelled. I hate going to a market and not knowing just what it is I'm looking at, or its price.

Amazing job.
-Shawna

Wow! Nice peppers! How'd you get those pictures on here?

elrem2002,
Your peppers are indeed beautiful! But may I ask something...new at market gardening too...just an example of your chile peppers. Your sign states $2.oo. Is that for the whole box? Per lb.? If it's the box, do you empty it into a plastic sack so you're not constantly needing to replenish your boxes? Not quite in the league to purchase a legal scale so I was planning on selling by the unit or bunches. Any advice would be appreciated!

Your peppers are a real feast for the eyes! Thanks for sharing your photos.
Toni

For red in indiana,

Yes, the 2.00 is for the whole box of chiles. That's a pint box. I dump it into a plastic bag and have to refill the box for the next customer. The market I go to is huge with 100s of vendors. The only ones who use scales are a few of the hucksters selling shipped in stuff like bananas. The farmers all sell by the container-- pint, quart, 4 quart, 8 quart, 1/2 bushel or bushel. Or potatoes and onions in 10, 20 and 50 pound bags. Hope this answers your question.

I wish you lots of good luck and good sales in your marketing!

WOW... Makes me GREEN with envy. What kind of acreage/plants do you have to harvest that many peppers? Do you operate full time at your market? How many people visit your market? Know this is an older post, but hope you're still around to answer. Thnx for posting those pics!

I seem to have terrible luck with peppers. Especially this year.

I don't have many, but am frustrated by how terribly they're doing this year. (By contrast my tomatoes are doing spectacularly.)

Any trade secrets to nice peppers?

I know elrem2002. I have been to his farm as well--it's quite a sight! He does not have enormous acreage. He is smart in that he grows varieties that no one else has and gets a better dollar for what he sells. Works smart!

I moved away so, I haven't seen him in many years, but I recognized his peppers the moment i saw them and it was confirmed when I saw his market setup.

The market is huge relative others. He operates seasonally when he has products to sell. Last I knew (and it has been about 6 years), he sells wreathes around Christmas, perennials in the spring and summer, and peppers through the fall. If you ask real nice, he will also sell you some pepper plants in the spring.

Thanks for the follow-up! If I saw a setup like that at our local markets, by aesthetics alone, it would make me want to purchase some peppers from him. What a treat for the eyes! :)

Not sure about this yet, but my peppers appear to do better with less water than the rest of the garden. But hard to control when it rains.

Paul

I'm bumping this one for a nother look at elrem's great pepper display, and a question. Elrem, you've been growing peppers for many years, what is your opinion on crop rotation with peppers, have you had any problems, and how often do you rotate the land and plant a different crop other than peppers?

I've got somewhat limited space, and am wondering how this has worked out for you.

Thanks for any reply,
Jay

We have a small market and mostly retired people at the market. Bells will sell. A few jalapenos. Have tried cayenne, cherry belles, cubanelles and very little sales. I grew big chile last year and they did okay. Several people like the chile releno type of chile. I explained also that they would be the same type of chile that they would buy chopped in a can. If you have a ethnic diversity in your area they will probably sell better. I use the jalapeno leftovers and make jalapeno jelly and have increasing sales of it each year.

Jay,

Well, I thought this pepper thread had fallen off the edge long ago.

Yes I've been growing things a long time. Grew many kinds of vegetables and flowers. Soon out grew my own little place and rented more land for many years. Things did get rotated and/or planted on new land. I had no special plan for rotation.

!992 was a very dry year here and I wanted to have my peppers near home where I could take better care of them. I've been planting peppers here in my own little garden every year since. So last year was the 13th year in a row in exactly the same place. And they seem to be better than ever. I do put down some horse manure every couple years.

The peppers are planted in two little plots. Over 4200 plants. Here's a picture of one plot from 2003.

Very interesting, and a beautiful pepper patch.
Looks like you plant in a wide bed of three across, do you do this with all varieties?
Do you ever use stakes or cages?
What's the hottest thing in new peppers?
Any recommendations for some of the new colorful varieties?
The plot appears to have just been rototilled, and I see the tell-tale center drag mark of a troybilt, perhaps?
One last question, do you float in mid-air following the tiller, or does it just run down the path by itself, because I see NO footprints.(just kidding!)

great looking peppers,do you save your seeds or do you order each year ?

WOW Great Pictures

Wow! Those pictures are so inspirational, thank you for sharing them! I hope y'all will forgive me bumping an old thread but I'd love to hear the answer to that last question, about seed saving? How bout the rest of y'all, do you find it worth the effort to save seeds? I'd love to hear your pepper experiences if you'd be willing to share :)

Great post to bring back. Now that's a great looking pepper display!!

Needed to bump this so we could all get inspired! What gorgeous peppers.

my experience is limited but what i have found with peppers is the hot ones don't sell as fast so I only plant about 25 of each variety usually jalapeno,cyan, and dont remember what the other ones are called right now maybe scotch bonnets and green bell peppers i have learned to stay away from the California wonders, I couldn't figure out why year after year my pepper plants would not produce for a long time and then when they did they were the size of a golf ball then i switched to Goliath and big Bertha never had another problem. as for reds and yellows they sell real well only thing i don't like is after you let em turn red the plants are about done so plan to put in an extra row if you want reds and greens. im no expert but i know what works for me

Jed, I'm glad it's not just me. The hot peppers don't sell near as well as the regular green and red bell peppers. My customers like ones that can/will sit up for stuffed peppers.

Marla

Boy, those are some great looking peppers & plants! Wish I could grow them like that. What do you do special to get them to grow so nice? Mine only get about 2 ft tall, with not many peppers on them. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Can someone tell me how to market peppers. My goal is to set out around 500 planys out. I will have chili, cubanelle, sweet peppers as well. My questions are, what are some good places to sell these peppers at, and could it be benfical to have a U Pick set up for my peppers and advettise my location and product?

Here is a link that might be useful: Facebook

I've only sold at farmers market, but with only 1 product, you will have a hard time selling just peppers, IMHO. I found that I had to have several different products to make the customers come to me.

500 plants are alot without knowing where or how to sell them. Sounds like you might be giving more away than selling. Find your market BEFORE you plant all of those.