Funny that you can sell hot peppers. I've sold a few serrano and jalapeno, and 1 young man (another vendor) bought Hinkelhatz after tasting one and being sent into a hiccup fit, but no one else is buying. People even cautiously ask about the yellow (unripe) Chablis sweet peppers I brought a few weeks ago.

I've asked other vendors and while they are displaying Anaheims, jals, Hungarian Wax, etc. they said they don't sell well. One farmer about 4 miles from me said he doesn't even do well with sweet bell peppers unless they're big enough to stuff. I'm going to bring some small green bells along with Sweet Bananas this week and see what they do.

But then again, I haven't sold a tomato at the past 2 markets either (Glacier, small salad type).

Had people asking for big zucchini to make bread with but I think my squash are all done - no zukes, and yellow squash are rotting on the vine after all this rain.

Cucumbers sell well.

1 lady was looking for spinach and 1 man for broccoli this week. Guess it's too late to plant broccoli, don't know if I can get spinach in 3 weeks for last market Sept 30. Does it grow as quickly as lettuce? May throw in fall crop of lettuce too since I am still getting tomatoes (though cukes are about done).

Berries always sell - gotta get some fall-bearing raspberries - any fall blueberry types?

Guess it is that time of the year to figure what has sold well and what did not. Last year we could hardly give eggplant away but this year they are flying off the table (3-4 bu per week) - it was suggested that the cooking shows have been featuring them so people are in the mood. Hot peppers are spotty - jalapeno's are selling OK but not like last year and hot wax are almost a waste of table space (maybe a half dozen quart boxes per week). Tomatos have been good but not in the quantity like in the past. I think we ran about 150 lbs last week where our records show last year it was upwards of 250. Not that that is such a bad thing as the crop has been an absolute disaster this year. We did not plant sweet potatoes this year as last year they were an absolute dud (but in prior years they sold well). Of course now people are asking for them. Irish potatoes, by contrast, have sold very well. Broc and cauliflower have never sold well and this year was no exception. If it were not for the fact that they are a good early season crop would give them up all together. Beets have been strong all year but turnips hit and miss. It's too early to see what the fall crops are going to do but the early results are encouraging with the winter squash. We had a few pumpkins this week (Knuckleheads and Fairy Tales) and sold half a dozen but honestly it's way to early to know anything. Did sell two cushaws which is amazing.

One thing that I have noticed is that the number of people at the markets is fewer that last year but the recipts indicate that they are spending more per person. Frankly I am happy to see this - it's easier to take care of one person that spends $20 than four that spend $5. Now if we could only get those other three to come and spend $20 also I would do a happy dance.

Tom

I was at different markets this year, so my comparisons are not accurate. I did find that these smaller, more rural markets want tomatoes early in season, but not so much for canning (my last year market, I couldn't keep up with the number of bushels of tomatoes going out for canning). Cucumbers are close to the best seller for both past years and current year. Potatoes (Irish, red) did well early then sales DIED. White potatoes were a bust this year. My markets are done, so no pumpkins, Indian corn, or winter squash (glad I didn't get any planted). Sweet Corn did well, I could have more Beets some weeks and had too many most weeks. Broccoli, cabbage-forget them.
The only peppers I could sell were the larger bell peppers, didn't matter green or red.

A couple of my former customers did find me and pre-ordered their canning tomatoes, Thank goodness. Still have 3-4 bushels spoke for for this coming week.

Sales were definitely down, but I'm thinking at least 1/2 of the downturn was different market. My plants early in the year did well. I'm thinking about doing more on the plant side and possibly less on the produce side. Especially since we've been given enough greenhouse hoops and poly for 1 hoop house of 120x24 size. Of course, I will not put it into 1 large house, but 3 smaller houses.

Marla

I am similar to your list Slimy but again I agree hot peppers don't sell.

Don't sell:
hot peppers
Napa cabbage
banana peppers
green beans
herbs
sunchokes

for me it is also hard to sell
potatoes
heirloom tomatoes some of the time
sweet peppers
cucs
zucs
scallions in spring- in fall they sell since no one else has them
different squash
different root veggies
many greens
kohlrabi after the first couple weeks
chemical free sweet corn at a decent price

Sells well
beets
carrots in multicolors with tops
cabbage
broccoli
leeks, edamame, baby bok choy sell ok most of the time
lettuce
spinach
dill and cilantro if I had it because no one has in 2 years

tired now and that is all I can think of

Very interesting topic. It always seems what is most popular is what is least available. I am starting to learn that I am popular for several things, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Jellies, Pickling Cucumbers, Squash, and Okra.

Top Sellers- Must haves
Tomatoes- Cherokee Purple and Red ones

Cherry Tomatoes, labor intensive, but very good to me. I sell them at $3 a pint. I have taken as many as 100 to market at one time. I have 11 varieties. It has taken time to build this market

Bell peppers, colored ones (this year they were a bust for me. Bad growing season)

Carrots early and late

Cucumbers

Zucchini ( I sell mostly plain old green zucchini, but I offer several other colors and shapes)

Pickling Cucumber- if you are patient enough to pick every day to every other day.

Onions (not gigantic, not small about baseball sized)

Potatoes, we offer four varieties

Green Beans-(Last year great success growing them, this year I picked enough for one meal) Didn't have the time to dedicate to weeding them. Too labor intensive for this one man operation. Probably stick with zucchini, multiple plantings and spray it. Higher production and quicker picking! I can pick 100-125 pounds in 20-30 minutes. Green beans it would be half a day.

Okay sellers,

Okra

Salad Mix (everyone has them)

Spinach

Radishes (in season)

Haikuri Turnips (in season)

Hot peppers

Romaine (sold out every week)

Napa Cabbage (Sold out every week)

Giving up on and probably won't grow much of anymore:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Bok Choy

Swiss Chard

Jay

I'm going to try edamame next year. I was asked to grow it this year, but ended up putting tomatoes, peppers, cukes and squash in that space. So I still have the seed. Gonna plant it where my failed heirloom tomatoes were this year (soil too acid and too wet, now have blight on surviving plants). Once it dries out a little I'm going to pull the tomatoes, lime and maybe throw some manure down if I can get it. Hopefully the edamame will add some more N to the soil - was very low down there (new field this year).

But berries of all kinds sell well, just take a couple years to get established. Hopefully some of the blackberries and raspberries the bears mangled last month will come back next year so I will have something. I'm afraid to spend lots of time and money planting raspberries (any recommendations?) and Triple Crown (thornless!) blackberries just to have them destroyed though. Not sure how strong of an electric fence (would have to be solar-powered) would be required to keep a bear out.

Everybody wants sweet corn but it's just too hard on the land. Not to mention when we tried to grow a couple rows in the garden near the house last year the coons found it before it was ripe. We got 3 ears.

Agree about size of things- not too big and not too small. I couldn't sell my big beefsteak heirlooms in previous years.

The deer at my edamame down so often it didn't make plump pods. And there are acres of soybeans a 1/2 mile or so away!

That's why I was going to put them near the house (7 ft tall netting around 400 sf area) but since DH built a trellis for my tomatoes and I ended up putting netting around that (only about 5.5 ft tall) to keep the turkeys out, I figured I can plant the edamame there next year since shouldn't put tomatoes in the same spot and also the soil needs nitrogen which the beans should help with (if there's enough there for them to survive in the 1st place).

You can keep tomatoes in the same ground for up to 3 years, just in case you wanted to. This is, of course, providing no tomato type diseases in the previous year.

Marla

Yep, that's the problem - too wet, got early blight and now looks like late blight. So I want to keep nightshades out of that area for a couple of years.

I've got strawberries (transplanted some wild ones in June and WOW those spread!) where we had cherry toms that got blighted 2008. Planted peppers this year where toms were last year (hmm, maybe had some there 2009 too), and determinate tomatoes (the only ones that did well) along the edge of that same plot where we tried corn last year - about 10 ft from where toms were last year. So I do try to rotate a little even if not blighted, and keep far away if we did have blight.

Your problems might not be the disease "blight", but more of the wet conditions that you have had recently. Hopefully next year, "Irene" won't coming knocking on your door (or any of her cousins).

Marla

I want to change my answer to "all of them". LOL

This year, the customers don't seem to be buying as much, nor are there as many customers as previous years. I noticed this when I visited my old market. I hope things start turning around.

Marla

Had to chuckle about your Slimy_Okra moniker. We're not in prime okra country but I have a good spot for it. Nine times out of ten I can sell every pod I can find. Among my customers are a number of ex-southerners and then others who just like okra. Don't know how much I could actually sell as rarely have it on table long. Anyone who shops later probably doesn't even know its been available. Once in a while one of regular purchasers doesn't show up a particular week. So I put out the box(es) saved for him later in the morning and someone nearly always snatches them up.

The major thing I sold less of this year was cut flowers. It was consistently less all season, so am pretty sure that's an economy thing, There wasn't any increased competition in the market that might account for it. Also, at times I had some gorgeous dahlias and hated to see them go abegging.

Reminder, if you have cut flowers that don't sell, you could make a trip to a nearby nursing home and most are willing to take them to some of the residents that don't get flowers. Same thing with artifical flowers that you don't have a use for any longer. I know this is true with my MIL's nursing home.

Marla

Better than letting one's housecats destroy them and the vase! LOL