Have a read through this forum. There had been lots of discussions about that issue and one very recently.

At the bottom there is a search field for just this section.

I used a large bowl set in another larger bowl with ice water.

Yes, you should check out the different threads. I found the search feature at the top, but haven't used it.

I just had a 2-gal food grade bucket and tongs - Health inspector stopped by, said it was fine as long as I wasn't selling it "ready to eat". I wish I'd asked more than $3 for a gallon bag though. Was asking $2/head on the ones I pulled up and trimmed the roots off of. Sold all but 1 head today.

I sold a mix of romaine and loose leaf, plus a few baby chard, kale, and snow peas thrown in. Definitely more than 3 heads worth for the same price.

I did put half the bucket out at a time (though it didn't look like much half full), and kept rotating the heads in and out of the cooler (kept the ones on display in a small stoneware crock with ice water).

Glad it worked out for you, I didn't think you'd have trouble. Can you get quarts and ask $1 or so per bag? Maybe offer both? Or raise your price alittle and if someone asks why (only if they ask), you could say it was a special for the day. I call all of my prices 'Today's Special', that way I can raise or lower accordingly.

I had quart ziplocs, but they just seemed a bit small so I bought twist-tie gallons when I bought ice. A good size for a family, but I really should ask more - just afraid $5 might be too much, maybe I could ask $4 (I'd have to weigh it - I bundled some of my smaller heads together to make 4-5 oz on my kitchen scale and no one objected to $2 for those, some people even bought 2 bundles for $4, that's $8/lb).

New guy next to me was selling greenhouse tomatoes and doing steady business at $3/lb (roughly - he had a couple vintage hanging scales that hadn't been inspected in 20 yrs, didn't get questioned but then again it was just Health Dept coming, not Consumer Protection or whoever is in charge of scales).

Had Olive Oil Company (also vinegar) on other side of me so I kept asking people in joking voice if they wanted lettuce to go with their tomatoes, we have salad dressing just on the other side!

That's great that everything worked out for you ajsmama.

We sell lettuce (usually in salad mixes) and most other greens for $2.50 at 1/4 lb a bag. We don't grow arugula but other vendors sell arugula for $12 a 1/4 lb bag (yes, you read that right!).

Here is mine in the cooler.
{{gwi:1043637}}

we do are lettuce like this in pics

ajmama around 1.5 pounds and it will sell for $2.00
Mark

Wow, bigger than it looked! I guess I was lucky selling my 4-5 oz heads for $2 last week.

I looked at grocery story bagged mixes yesterday, "organic" brand was on sale for $2.79 for 5 oz, argula was $8-12/lb, chopped kale was only $2.99

What do you think about the hot weather coming? Should I clear out my fridge and harvest greens today? I really hate to have them in fridge til Friday, but better than letting them wilt or get bitter in the ground.

Any chance ajsmama of picking your greens thur. night or early friday morning before market, so they will be in perfect,crisp condition
Mark

I'd love to - I picked and washed in the AM last Friday. But this Wed and Thurs are supposed to be 95 degrees - so is the lettuce going to get bitter (or keel over) before Friday?

I thought I might have another week or 2 before it got really hot (usually hot in July here, June not so much). But crazy weather this year - 80 in mid-March and freezing the last week of April.

Nice pix - you grow closer together than I do, and I thought I was pretty close (planned on pulling every other head). Do you pull, or just cut and come again?

We grow greens closer together (3 rows) exactly because they shade each other better when the heat comes, also this lettuce patch is under a pear and apple tree which helps greatly.
It wouldnt hurt to water in morning or after dark with cool water from well during the heat.
I always pick greens in early am when they are the crispiest and immediately hydro cool and rinse-dry and bag to cooler.
Mark

So you think just watering deeply the next few days will help? They're in full sun. I guess I could try to rig up some shade cloth (don't have Agribon but have lots of sewing material - some upholstery stuff will block a LOT of sun) but does it really help when the air temp is in the 90's?

Thanks

Sheila

Putting up shade helps ALOT, in the greenhouse, just installing a shade cloth (about the consistency of heavy cheesecloth, but dark) dropped the temps over 20 degrees. That's putting it on the outside of the plastic, but it should help. I would think draping it over a frame would be better than right on top of the plants.

Mark, your stuff looks good this year.

Wow, lots of great answers. Thanks everyone for your comments, ideas and photos.

I ended up getting a big, shallow basket, putting some flat baggies full of ice at the bottom, putting a nice cloth over that, putting a layer of plastic wrap over that, and filling the basket with the lettuce. Then I got customers to scoop out pints of the lettuce they wanted, and I charged $1.50 a scoop.

I sold out within the first hour of the market! I'm one of only two organic growers, and I think that must have been a big attraction (I was telling passers-by that "I'm a chemical free farm!" and most often they'd stop :).

Anyway, I really like some of the other ideas here, like pre-bagging some mixes (in a vented 6 or 8 x 15 bag or so?) and keeping them in a cooler. My ice basket worked well, but it only went up to about 22C (upper 60's?). I kept rotating the lettuce around too, just in case it started to wilt in the hour I had it there. :) So maybe the cooler would be better in the long run.

Anyway, very interesting comments - thanks!

-Les

This week I'm freezing some cold packs and milk jugs of water - $2 for a small bag of ice that didn't last 4 hrs is too much every week!

Thanks Marla - I have some small cages I haven't put over the peppers/eggplant/okra yet, so I'll stick those in the lettuce rows and find a dark cloth to drape over. DH helped by weeding again yesterday so now I don't have clover and grass on the south side of the lettuce to try to keep the roots cool. The man likes to see bare ground around crops! I only have hay and burlap to mulch with, so I'll put as much burlap as I have down on the bare spots after watering, and cover with whatever I find in the attic. I don't really want to pick hay out of looseleaf lettuce on Friday.

Sheila, that's the farmer in him. You can use cardboard for mulch, check with stores for extra boxes. I've used old tomato boxes that have outlived their tomato lives.

Freezer ziplocs work just as well as ice packs. Don't fill them completely, or they'll bust. Also keep a misting bottle filled with ice cold water.

Les, keep some in a cooler and only display some at a time. Also cover with a wet towel when customers are not around. Our food bank covers the frozen food to keep the meats and such still partially frozen even when it's 90 degrees outside. Keep the cooler closed as much as possible, and if it's big enough, the cooler makes a good seat or short table.

Marla

Loose leaf we sell in 8x3.20 vented bags ~3lbs and 6x3.5x15 vented ~1 lbs.

I carefully stack washed cut greens in food grade buckets with a little water in the bottom, and cover them with a garbage bag. When I get to the market a half-hour before setup a line of customers is already forming. I check all the "ready to eat" greens sellers prices, and undercut them. I debag enough buckets to fill my area/tailgate/booth/table and bring 'em out. If I have someone there to help me, I might use tongs to (shopping) bag them, but otherwise I just bag them and send the customer on their way. Often entire buckets are purchased, so bagging/presentation aren't an issue. Occasionally, I don't sell out, so I take remainder to local restaurant/grocery customers and wholesale them. If they aren't available or interested (sometimes they have enough,) I take them home and process them.

This is in a cold area, but according to Murphy, all outdoor markets will be on days when the temps are 87F to 108F, NO EXCEPTIONS!

undercutting price IMO, is not away to build a customer base. At the markets I go to the customers wonder about vendors with lower prices. Are they selling inferior produce? My goal is to provide the best product and present it in a way that you can get a premium price.

i think selling an equal quality product for a lower price is a great way to build a customer base, or at least sell what you brought. prices at farmers markets are too high for most folks.