I can't even sell 2-3ft tall patio tomatoes in large pots this time of year. I'm going to keep trying for the next couple of weeks, but they're a pain to transport, yours would be even harder. Even if you have a truck, a lot of people wouldn't be able to fit them in their cars (mine they could). Sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe you could try the smaller ones.

Next year (or in FL maybe you can grow all year), start some in 3-4" pots and sell them when they're 6-12" tall, or sell the determinate ones in 2 gal or larger pots when they're 2-4ft tall but earlier in the season (if you have a season).

I did sell some plants yesterday, but noticed for the past 2 weeks (market started June 1) that people seemed to prefer the 3ft tall leggy hybrid plants another farmer had in same size pots for $2 to my 9" tall bushy ones ($4 for heirloom, $2 for cherries). A couple did stop by late with a box full and asked me about mine, bought 2 heirlooms and were surprised to learn that they should strip leaves off and plant deep (I told them to trench to plant the leggy ones if their topsoil wasn't that deep). I hope they'll be back for more info (and maybe produce) later since they are regulars who live within walking distance of market.

Oh, and maybe this wouldn't be funny in FL, but we were packing up at end of market, man came over asking if I had any "sandwich-sized" tomatoes. So I told him he wanted BW, they were already in the truck. DS climbed up and started to pull one out, man said "Oh no, I wanted tomatoes, not plants!" I told him I didn't have a greenhouse, so 2 months til first tomato. He must have gone looking at other vendors and asked for tomatoes, they pointed me out b/c I had the most plants b/c I didn't have my sign still out and all the plants were packed in bins and boxes to put in the truck.

Minnie, people are now conditioned to think that farmers markets should have everything that the grocery store has. Global marketing have made some people stupid.

Back to question. Around the Midwest, you would not be able to sell them at all. In FL, isn't it awfully late to have tomatoes, especially in So FL, the customers would only have a month or so before it got too hot.

As Minnie suggested, come August/Sept start some for starts, it's the only way that we can sell plants. Of course, since starting seeds are easy and you don't need the heat helping greenhouses, this might not be a business for you.

BTW, Lived in Tpa for 8 years after lifetime in Indiana.

Marla

I'm not Minnie (or Lisa LOL - showing my age if you remember that song). Yeah, the man told me a fried of his (or boss?) had greenhouse and gave him a ripe tomato. Market master has a greenhouse, but I didn't get a chance to look if she had tomatoes yet. She had strawberries, and has been selling (big, long stemmed) radishes.

Agree with you on "supermarket" conditioning. The couple who bought the leggy tomatoes (also noticed some lettuce in their box) and then bought BW and BK from me initially asked for "Ugly" (Ugli brand?) tomatoes, so I steered them to BW.

Sorry, I didn't look very close. We do have some tomatoes here out of heated greenhouses. There is supposed to be a variety called "Ugly". I haven't seen it, but have been asked for it. It think they are uglier than BW. When I searched for ugly, I found another thread stating that you could get them at Tomato Growers, but they don't have them now. Another site called the COSTOLUTO GENOVESE as the 'ugly' tomato. Other sites also show ones that look like the COSTOLUTO GENOVESE.

We started to pick and sell tomatoes this week out of our unheated high tunnels. We have been picking and selling cherry tomatoes for 2.5 weeks.

The same thing happened our first day of market, we are are a PRODUCER ONLY, market in my hometown and the old guy comes up and says (Keep in mind it is May 5th) "Who has any sweet corn?" I started to giggle!

At my other market, I am stuck next to an outfit that does grow some things, but much of it is bought and resold. This week they had Pineapples, Mangos, Oranges and Bananas. Most of it looked like junk. Still had Dole stickers on it too.

Back to the original question, The lost realist, I think you are wasting your time. How do you plan to haul these tomatoes to market? More importantly how do you expect your customers to Haul them home? What are you going to charge for said potted tomatoes? Did you sell any. I for one wouldn't buy any.

Jay

Yes, that was the closest variety I could think of that looked like an Ugli (tm?). But I didn't have that kind, so suggested BW and they also wanted to try BK.

Jay, you have early tomatoes (and yes I know the difference b/t greenhouse and high tunnel but I'm sure this guy didn't, it was late, I had somewhere else to be so just used the term GH instead of having to explain to him what a tunnel is). LOL on the corn!

You and I both think transportation is major issue with such large plants. Frankly,I wouldn't even want to haul them in a truck - too likely to get damaged by wind. Not to mention can't see our of RV mirror. And what about overpasses ;-) ?

Thank you all for your responses. Wow, this has me very disheartened. Maybe I'll be better off transplanting them into 5 gallon buckets and selling the produce at the farmer's market.
To answer jrslick, I was planning on selling them at my garage sale next week, so I would only have to move them from the back yard to the front. I do have a truck, so maybe I could offer to transport the plants to the customer's home if they purchased, say, 5 or more?
Does anybody feel that I'll have some sort of luck selling these large plants, or should I start new seedlings and sell the small plants as well as the produce I collect from the current plants?
Thanks again for everyone's quick and helpful responses!

"or should I start new seedlings and sell the small plants as well as the produce I collect from the current plants?"

That's probably what I would do in your position. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

Marla - I kid you not I has a fellow as me today at the market if we had any pumpkins yet. I thought he was kidding. Said he wanted to make a pie and was going to go around to the other vendors and look. Maybe that's a new nitche market for someone - high tunnel pumpkins for pies in June.

Tom

Last year I couldn't sell any larger tomatoes. I think the big greenhouses sell them so cheap that I cannot even buy the pot for the price they charge.

Customers are so ignorant most of the time. First they come up and ask you how much is this or that or do you have this or that while you are still unpacking. Then when you tell them to give us some time some of the vendors aren't even here yet and we can't sell until 3:30 they are shocked! You can't go into a store before it opens can you?
Then they ask for all sorts of crazy stuff and when you don't have it they are mad. And if you have a lot of older customers you really get some experiences. They feel free to yell at you for things. Like one year in mid June we were all done with rhubarb and an old lady yelled at me, "You are supposed to be able to pick it until the fourth of July!"
Most of the younger generation doesn't even know where food comes from or what plants look like or what a corn field is. They see them but still think there should be corn at market when the fields are knee high. Maybe we should make our graph of what is available when more obvious.

I should print this out and put it in my binder with the tomato descriptions, recipes, etc. Of course everything's a little early this year - my strawberries are done already and yesterday I picked about 6 blueberries so I told people about 2 weeks to market.

Here is a link that might be useful: CT Crop Availability

Tom, I had one customer that wanted a green pumpkin, green as in not ripe. The made a green pumpkin pie out of it. Wanted in green-green, not turning at all.

Our market posts our ripening schedule on their website, but it doesn't help much.

Back to question, could you sell the large plant, MAYBE, but be surprised if you do. I'd go ahead and have the 5-gal pot available to show what size of pot they will need. You might be surprised, and you've already got them ready for sale, so go for it. take 1-2 and tell them that you have more.

While I was in FL, I had a hard time planting in the fall the crops that I normally (up north) had to wait til March.

Yes, everything is early this year, about 2 weeks to 1 month.

Heck, if you're selling them out of your house, might as well see if anybody wants them. Who knows, you could sell some 4ft ones, though I really doubt you could find a taker for a 7ft tall one. But if you have room to plant them (even in 30-gal totes if not in ground), then what's the harm in seeing what they do and you can sell the produce.

Of course, depending upon where you live, there could be zoning issues that you need to know about, whether selling plants or produce.

A green pumpkin is just a round zucchini really.

Don't they have tougher skins (even when young) than zukes?

You have to peel it. Pumpkins usually don't get tough skins until after turning, but have alot more 'meat' than any zucchini. The green pumpkin pie people wanted ones about the size of a person's head.