wow! ohiorganic you have plenty on your plate to keep you busy

I report prices for the GROPX too. good link to post Kevin.

Last year was our 1st year, and we focused on heirloom tomatoes. We sold them for $3.00/lb -- 18 varieties. Everything sold well except paste tomatoes, which we couldn't give away. Our garlic was $1.00 each, cucumbers were $1.00/lb, and we tried pricing peppers everyway we could think of...without prepacking...$3.00/lb, 25 cents each, 3 for $1.00. It didn't work, but we didn't have a lot.

this mornings market:
salad mix $5 lb
pea shoots $5 lb
oyster mushrooms $2 bowl(1/4 lb) or 3/$5.00
scallions,chard,parsley,arugula,mizuna,celery,raab: $1.25
bunch.

almost forgot the last of this years basil at $1.75 a bunch
($1.50 thru most of the season)

Here are a few:

Basil: $2.75 for 2 oz. bag, $5.00/ quarter lb & $18.00/lb.
Heirloom tomatoes, $3.00/lb.
tomatillos, $3.00/ quart
Rhubarb (a BIG seller) $2.50/lb.

Don't sell many peppers, we have several vendors w/ roasters & once they show up, all pepper business goes their way.

Baby squash, mixed varieties $5.00/lb
Baby eggpaplant, mixed colors, $3.00/lb
Beets & turnips $1.50 - $2.50, depending on where we are in the season
Raspberries $2.75/ pint
Easter egg radishes, $ 1.50/bunch
Salad mix $8.00/ lb; $2.50/quarter lb.

Herb Plants in 2 1/2" pots, $2.50 each - can almost always do at least 1 flat of basil/ market, about 6 flats of herbs overall.

Gal. Perennials, incluing rhubarb & raspberries $8.00 ea.
Mixed herb gardens, $10.00 - $30.00 depending on size & varieties

Flowers for drying: Bouquets of flowers that dry well: $4.00 ea. 3/$10.00

Dried flower bouquest: $4.00 -$8.00

Dried herb wreaths, $20.00 - $40.00 depending on size.

Those are my biggest sellers - from time to time I'll do other things, but the above accounts for probably 85% of our sales.

Let's see, what did I sell this year?

I can't sell by the pound but sometimes bag in standard weights, estimate...

Salad mix (6 oz) $3.
Jerusalem artichokes (.5 lb) $2.
Hot peppers 4 for a $1.
Beans (.5 lb) $2.
Grapefruit 75 cents each
Turnips $2 bunch
Joi Choi $1.50 each
Kale (.5 lb) $2-$3.
Swiss Chard $2 bunch
8-ball zucchini 75 cents each
Tomatoes mixed lb bag $3.
Zucchetta (a great seller and prolific) @ $1.50 a lb
Figs $4. a pint
Basil $1.50-$2.
Shallots (.5 lb) $2.50
Cucumbers .75 each
Sweet potatoes .50-$1 each
Pomegranates $3. each

Tomatoes : 50cents each or $2.00 a quart.
Squash : 3 for 1$
Zuchinni : 3 for 1$
Cucumbers : 3 for 1$
Cherry Tomatoes : 1$ a pint
Cantaloupes : $2.00
Watermelons : $2.00 - $5.00
Sweetcorn: $3.00 a dozen
Peaches $2.00 a quart
apples : $1.50 a quart
Pumpkins large : #4.00
Pumkins small : $2.00
Gourds : 50 cents 3 for $1
Winter squash $1.50 A peice
beans : prices vary

Thats some of what i sell. Of course prices vary . Last year was a great season for us so prices were cheap.

I thought I would bump this one up again that market is starting up for many again.

How much for radishes ? I have seen how much per bunch but I haven't a clue how much a bunch is . Also if you sell them per count(ie 8 in a bunch) are they all the same size?
Are is is best to do them by the pound . I have been selling them but need to have a consistant measure & price.

I sell radishes in bunches of 10. I try to get them all about the same size. I charge $1.50 a bunch for french breakfast and easter egg radishes

Prices vary depending on the time of the season and availability. This past week we charged the following:
Baby Bok Choi-$1.50 sml bunch
Baby Broccoli Raab-$1.50 bunch
Cutting Celery-$1.25 bunch
Parsley-$1.25 bunch
Bunching Onions-$1.50 bunch
Salad Mix-$7.00 lb
Vege 3" transplants-$1.75
Eggs-$2.75 dzn
The sugar snap peas should be in in a week or 2 and they''ll go for $4.50lb
Garlic will be about $6.00 lb. Haven't decided on this year's pricing on the warmer weather crops. By the way we're certified organic. Hope this helps.
Glenda

I sell garlic by the lbs also instead of by the head. We have various sizes and varieties. We plant so much that I don't have time to size all of it. We sell our smallest first. People are so glad to see fresh garlic they don't care it is smaller, then as it cures we start pulling our seed stock out then later in the summer we start selling the larger heads if they are seed stock size we sell for more. Gennerally garlic is $6.00-8.00 lb and $12 lb for softneck braids.
Shallots last year we sold for $6.00 lbs.

I'll try to remember off the top of my head from last year's sales:
garlic $1
beans $2.50 quart
tomatoes 50 cents or $2 qt basket (usually 4-5 tomatoes)
zucchini 75 cents or 3/$2
cukes 5/$2
strawberries $3.50 qt.
rasp $2.50 half pint
peppers 5/$2 (not real large ones)
plums $3.50 qt. (none last year due to spring freeze)
basil $2 bunch
Ann

Heirloom tomatoes -$1/lb. People here expect the farmer's market to be cheaper than the grocery store. Heirlooms are not worth any more than red tomatoes in this area. If I charged $3/lb I would be laughed off the lot.

bkyleh - why do people there think farmers' mkt produce would be less than grocery store produce? Isn't what you produce fresher, grown and picked by you, cleaned by you, not shipped across the country, etc.? I figure that what I grow is a whole lot better than what the local stores have to offer and I charge accordingly - $4/pound for heirloom tomatoes - and my farmers' mkt customers seem to agree. I grew about 2000 plants last year and never changed my price from June through October. Even the grocery chain that bought from me paid $3/pound. If what I grow is not better than what has been picked green, gassed and shipped from who knows where - well guess I'd best find a new job.

i used to sell at a market where tomatoe went for 50¢ a quart and all they had were red maters. Being inexpereinced I grew heirl;ooms and charged at the beginning $2 a pound for them and at first did not sell much but did give away a lot and after a couple of seasons at thei market a couple of thing happened. The heirlooms developped a following, the averag price of tomatoes at that market went from 50¢ a pound to around $1.50 a pound and we couyld easily get $3 a pound for our certified organic hierloom tomatoes.

I was also told I could never get that kind of price for my produce. I am glad I did not listened to the naysayers and instead became the price setter at this market. Instead of being laughed off the lot I educated people about the superior qualities of fresh local produce over the stuff in the grocery store. In other words, I used marketing to get the price I felt was deserved and soon other farmers, including the old timers were following suit and making more money themselves.

Bkyleh, you might just surprise yourself if you did ask for a fair price for your heirloom

Gosh, now I don't know what to charge for my tomatoes (that hopefully will ripen by mid-June). I have contacted a number of restaurants that are interested in my heirloom tomatoes (plus Rutgers). I gave them a price of $2.50/lb. They all accepted that price without any argument and now I'm thinking, in light of these posts, if I should reconsider going to $3.00/lb.
Does anyone out there sell to upscale restaurants?
Thanks,
Mike

We're located between two larger towns. Obviously they get more for their produce in those two towns than we do but I don't want to drive that distance when I am satisfied with having two smaller markets within 15 minutes of my house. I charge for 9X5 loaf pans of sweet breads $8
blackberry and carrot apple cake same size, iced $9
small loaves $2.50-$3.50
large muffins $1
tomatoes, early market $1.50/lb. later $1
green beans $1.50/lb
all squashes $1-$1.50/lb
cucumbers 2/$1-3/$1
green peppers same as cucumbers
daylilies $5-$10 per double fan. Mostly sold as bare root divisions. Later in the season I will take in a few potted plants in bloom. I don't usually take anything more expensive than that because unless someone is daylily collector they'll balk at prices higher than that.

Most of my income comes from baking and selling dayliles.

Janet

Janet - Sounds like you value the work you so baking - good fair prices that I would think allow you to make some money, but sure seems cheap for fresh veggies - that's lots less than the groceries charge and you are doing all the work.
I'd love your recipe for baked daylilies! LOL
Mike - $3/lb is not too much.
Again - what most of raise and sell is FAR BETTER than what is available in any grocery store. Our product is fresh, hopefully clean, beautiful, nutritous, locally grown, and beautifully presented.
Many of us are trying to make a living growing and selling fresh produce. It is important that we all sell product for prices that allow people to farm for a living.
Robbins (who will now step down off her soapbox!)

Robbins - I see the comment "Our produce is fresh picked and clean, and nutritious... etc" all the time posted here and mentioned in literature concerning market growing. And I'm not saying that it is wrong, but some of us live in communities where there are lot of vegetable farms, lots of organic farms, and where most local grocery stores carry year round vine ripened tomatoes and heirlooms. I live in a small town with small corner grocery stores and even they carry organic heirlooms! The best I could hope for would be to offer mine at a similar price (which is profitable). Standing on a soapbox talking about how mine are vine ripened or extra tasty doesn't draw the crowd around here like it used to.

"Our produce is fresh picked and clean, and nutritious... etc"

The trick is to have customers that care about this. Around here most of the farmers markets are not for those seeking a bargain but for those who want fresh produce and a connection to the grower. There is a desire to preserve farming and farmers because, in our area, there is so much threat from development that not supporting local farmers something that can have immediate consequences. In areas that are still more rural that issue doesn't seem as pressing to some consumers because there is plenty of open space. It is made harder when some of the other vendors don't charge a price that would command a "living wage" for the farmer. There is probably a customer base in every area who believe in freshness and giving a farmer a fair price but these people can be hard to find.

What you can get for an item does depend on where you live . Here in NC we have a long tomato growing season and most people can grow there on in there back yards with out much problem. Even those who live in the bigger cities. So tomato prices here are not as high. Early tomatoes can bring the best price. But by July every body has them or has a neighbor who does. I am sure it is not like this all over the country. But other items here that are not common or hard to grow can fetch a nice price . I am sure I can get a better price for my garlic than those who live near Gilroy CA.
My customers care about where there food comes from and will buy organic but during peak tomato season even those wouldn't pay $3.00 lbs because they would grow there own if ours were too high price.

Possibly one difference is that the 'Farmers' Market' varies from place to place. In one, this may be the market where you can find thirty varieties of garlic or an awesome array of the $3 a pound heirloom tomatoes and the customers are looking for certain things and don't mind paying for them. Another will have the surplus tomatoes from a commercial tomato farm selling the excess that wasn't bought by a cannery. They'll price low for volume sales, at peak season 3 pounds for a dollar, and the people who frequent that market will expect those prices. Are the tomatoes at the one worth so much more than the other? That's a question to struggle with. I do think if I'm going to sell my heirloom tomatoes for $3 a pound, I should have a product that is demonstrably superior to the field tomatoes.

Mike, as for the restaurants, they will expect a discount from the retail price. If you're selling your tomatoes at $3 at the Farmers' Market, then $2.50 is a very good price to get from the restaurant. The benefit of a reliable outlet for your crop is marked. I also would think long and hard before raising the price within the same market year, especially in the first year.

A point to remember. Often when restaurants buy heirlooms or specialty produce, they're buying for the "WOW!" factor. They aren't buying three pounds of beefsteak, they're buying single tomato slices that will cover a hamburger. They aren't buying Big Rainbow for its taste in spaghetti sauce, but for the visual effect of the bi-color slices on a plate. They're buying a particular tomato because "This is the tomato raised by Italian chefs in the sunny hills of Tuscany for a thousand years to make their traditional sauce." What they won't buy is inferior produce, bad service, or bad faith.

And even though they compete, they also share certain information. A reputation as a straight shooter with a quality product will stand you in good stead.

Ray

Grass
Your quote "this may be the market where you can find thirty varieties of garlic or an awesome array of the $3 a pound heirloom tomatoes and the customers are looking for certain things and don't mind paying for them." Describes my market and I get premium price for every thing but tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are everywhere here and a miriad of good hybrids too. Heirloom plants are avaliable at garden centers and farmers market so everyone that has a patch of dirt can grow them. $ 2.75 is the max price at the beginning of the season except for one person who gets $3 for early organic heirlooms grown in a greenhouse. Most heirlooms are $2.50-1.50 through out the season. At the State market (where I do Not sell) you will see commercial growers selling as cheap as 50 cents.

TriangleJohn - Sorry, I didn't make it clear. I'm not on a soapbox telling my customers that the product is clean, nutritious etc. - no, I'm on the soapbox speaking to market gowers saying know your cost of production and ask a price that makes you a decent living. It seems ridiculous to thing that food grown by a small farmer should be of less value than what is offered at Walmart or in your corner grocery.
Sorry to be unclear -
Robbins

No, I understood. I was just trying to inform folks thinking about taking gardening to the next level i.e. business. That markets are different. In some places you can get better than expected prices for your produce when at others you'll struggle. When you sell at a public market everyone thinks their produce is superior. Keep things in perspective.

Hi, I was hoping that we might get some more pricing examples--GROPX seems to not have any prices on it right now--save for one market in Ohio (probably reported by ohiorganic!!)

I have sugar smap peas and baby beets ready to sell to restaurants and am trying to figure out fair pricing.

Our certified organic sugar snaps are selling for $4.50lb at the market and $4.00lb to restaurants.

Well at the moment, we're selling salad mix at $2.50/ 4 oz. bag

Rhubarb @$2.50/lb.
green onions $1.25/ bunch
flowering chive bunches @ $1.25/bunch
catnip at $2.50/ bunch
basil @ $2.50/ 2 oz bag.
broccoli raab (to restaurants) $2.75/lb
baby white turnips w/ nice greens $2.75/lb
eater egg radishes w/ nice greens $1.35/ bunch
med. leaf arugula, .5lb for $2.75

that's about it for now.

So far this year:
Snow peas 5 ounce bag - $2.00
Salad Mix - 8 ounce bag - $5.00
Jericho Lettuce - $3.00 head (sometimes 2 small ones)
Heirloom Beets mixed bunch of 4 - $2.50
Chinese Pink Garlic - $1.00 each (or 2/$1.00 for small ones)
Swiss chard - $2.00 bunch ( about 15 young stalks)
Garlic Scapes - $1.00 for 10
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley - 50 cents for small bunch (3 or 4 stems)
We can't grow enough snow peas or beets. They sell out before we can get set up at market. The lettuce has sold very well especially after a couple of markets. Garlic scapes have been the biggest hit. People are really open to trying them, and it seems people love garlic as much as tomatoes.

The biggest flop for us this year has been edible flowers. Tried selling them for $1.50 in small treat bags with 20 or so blooms. People would almost gasp "Oh how beautiful! Edible flowers...that is so nice." But we were lucky to sell one or two bags, so I stopped taking them. I am still trying to figure out how to package and market them better...

Patty

Mixed lettuce 8oz bag $2.50
spinach $6.00lbs/8 oz $3
garlic scapes $6.00 lbs $1.50 bag
Fresh Garlic $6.00 lbs
Carrots $2.00 lbs/ $1.00 bunch
Radishes $3.00 lbs / $1.50 bunch
Arugala $10.00 lbs /$1.00 bag
Kale $4.00 lbs /8oz $2.00
Swiss Chard $2.00 Bag
Bok choy $1.50 bunch
Dill, parsley, cilantro, Mint, Rosemary $1.00 bunch/bag

Thank you all for the info shared! My first day at market is coming up this Sat.! This thread has been very helpful.

anyone know how much to sell dahlias, sunflowers or gourds for?

Sorry DapperDahlia, every trick I've tried to get folks to buy gourds has failed miserably. They sometimes buy the already painted finished birdhouse but most often they just admire them (I price them $25 and up). I've tried selling them for $5 with the hole already cut and the walls sanded and the interior cleaned but have never sold any. I've tried just selling cured raw gourds for $2.50 and got no takers. I hear a lot of folks saying "seesh! for that much I should be selling you all the gourds I got"

DapperDahlia, to get some examples of prices for dahlias and sunflowers, check out the Cutflower forum. The prices will vary greatly according to the variety and 'packaging' of the flowers and you can get some idea of how to approach pricing them.

For the gourds, I've found direct selling to crafters works better than trying to sell to the general public. If you check craft shows, shops, etc., to get contacts, you might do better with them. You can also custom grow the gourds, i.e., suspend the vines so you get very straight necks or twist them so you get odder shapes, for a particular customer.

To sell gourds to the public, seeds seem to work better. Showing the gourd tempts them to 'grow it myself so I can sell it to you'. If you dry the gourds yourself to sell to crafter clients, you can remove the seeds, which they don't usually want anyway, and sell the seeds separately.

Ray

Dapper, I think you may have been referring to the small ornamental gourds, Cucurbita pepo. They sell fairly well in the fall priced at 5/$1.00. If they are a little bit larger, possibly 3/$1.00. Lots of competition; but, they add alot to the fall display.

Thought I would bump this up and see if anyone else has new numbers-

slicing and plum tomatoes- $2 #
Heirloom tomatoes $3 #
eggplants (different colors)- $3 # (or $2 for black, $1.50 for striped, $1 for white)
french filet beans- $4 for 3/4# bag
blue lake beans- $2 for 1# bag
salad mix- $3 for 1/3# bag
beets (red and striped)- $3 for 6 (large or baby are same price)
Sweet peppers- $3 #, or 2 for $1.50 for large, 4 for $1 for baby yellows
Green peppers - 2 for $1
Charentais melons $3
Swiss Chard $2 (big) bunch
Sugar Snaps $4 #
Zucchini and Summer Squash- 2 for $1

hi brian, this is what i charge in mid michigan.
MY FARM STAND------ SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET
tomatos lg. .75 ea. ------ .75ea.
med .50.ea -- .50 ea.
grape
tomatos 1.00pt.----- 1.50pt.

med. cukes 3 for 1.00 ----- 2 for 1.00
pickles 1.00 qt. ----- 1.50 qt.

gr. pepper med. 3 for 1.00 ----- 2 for 1.00
lg. .50 ea. ---- .75 ea.
green beans
& yellow beans 1.00 qt. ---- 1.50 qt.

leaf lettuces 1.00 a bag(1#) ----- 2.00 a bag(1#)
spinach 1.00 a bag(1#) ---- 2.00 a bag(1#)

radish .50 a bunch ---- .75 a bunch

beets 1.00-bunch of 5-6-- 1.50-bunch 0f 5-6
green onion .50 a bunch --- .75 a bunch

my stand is in a rural area on a paved road with medium traffic flow close to a town of 1200.
my market consists of tourists by a lake mainly from the detroit area.

Hi, I sell at an upscale, urban market. I got $7.00 lb for my sugar snaps last year. I did go to 6.00 for a full lb or more 1 week that I had a lot. The only other peas I saw were brought by an inexperienced grower and were picked too mature.
beets 2.75/large bunch
turnip 2.00 lb
mixed color beans 3-4/lb
radish 1.50/ bunch ( I will go to 1.75 this year.)
leek and parsnip 3.00 bu ( will go to 3.50 this year)
bunch greens 2.50
okra 4.00lb
roma tomatoes 2.oolb
heirloom (not good sellers) 2.50
I did have a good response to 4-5 peach tomatoes in a box for 1.50 (these have a lot of air space and do not wiegh as much as a box of cherry type.
miniature white cucumber 2.00/lb
pickling dill 2.00/bu
bouquets 7-8 each ( I am nervous about raising this price so much, but next year I need to get $10 -11 for this size boquet, after doing the numbers.)
I make sure everything is impeccably clean and perfect, I can tell customers how to cook everything, if a variety has a special history, etc.

Last year was our first season at market and growing. We learned alot about pricing and will do some things differently this year.

Tomatoes $3.00/LB
Squash $1.89/LB
bag of lettuce $3.50/6 oz.
Kale, chard $2.50/bunch
okra $4.00/LB
cantalope $4.00/each
basil $2.00 bunch

Negirl, I'm wondering what you put in your bouquets. I'm thinking about taking flowers this year....what are your best sellers? Thanks and good luck getting ready for growing!

Here is what I charged last year. This year we will be growing a lot more new things so I may have to post an updated list at the end of this year. I can't wait for spring!

Zucchini and Yellow Squash- .75 or .50 depending on size
Cucumbers- .75 each
Pickling Cucumbers- 3 or 4 for $1.00 or $1.50
Beets- 3 or 4 for $2.00
Bell Peppers- 2 for $1.00 all colors
Hot Peppers- $1.00 for just under a quart size
Green and Yellow Beans $2.00 quart
Peas- around $2.50 size varied
Grape Tomatoes- $2.50 quart
Heirloom tomatoes- $2.50 about 4 tomatoes in a quart
Scallions- $1.00 about 5 in a bunch
Radishes- $1.00 a bunch
Corn- $5.00 a dozen
Basil- $1.00 a bunch size depended on how much we had each week to cut
Pears- container of I think about 4 depending on size $2.50
Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread- $2.50 small loaves
Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread- .50 muffins
Apple Pie- $10.00
Pumpkin Pie- do not remember how much but it was cheaper than the apple pie, and A LOT easier and quicker to make.

I am thinking about getting into marketing gardening, I would love to see some midwest prices, especially for SE Michigan. Thinking about growing Heirloom tomatoes and Peppers.

just out your local farmers markets for prices. Keep in mind that prices change from year to year. I'm in north-central IN. I get between $2.00=$3.00 per lb of good quality tomatoes, no splits or spots. My peppers go for .75 to $1.00 each, large sized-big enough to fill my hand, not the little ones. I haven't been able to sell ANY hot peppers this year, nobody seems interested.

I got a new high for garlic last friday at the produce auction---$36 per peck, the highest previously was 424 per peck. Even small, uneven, cull types are bringing close to the same money. must be a shortage of chinese and caluifornia garlics this year?? sweet onions are doing nicely too @ $.70 each in lots of 20 and up. Peppers are high, up to $22 per 1/2 bu., and tomatoes are over a buck a pound, with sweet corn hovering around $4.25 per doz in lots of 5 to 500 dozen. The grower is actually making a buck this year. Summer aquash and beans have finally come down in price, at auction, but still holding at $2 per qt and $8 per peck. most goods at the produce auctions are bought by independent grocers and farm stand operators for resale.

Wow this thread was from 05! I wonder how many have changes their prices drastically. I increased my prices last year a bit over my first year and then a bit more this year. If you have something no one wants it doesn't matter how low the price is. If you have something a lot want you can get a lot for it. I try to keep my prices to the dollar rather than mess with a lot of quarters and we don't sell by weight at my market.
I will vary the size of a bunch or bag or whatever sometimes as need may be rather than change the price but I did already raise the price for 2011 on flower bouquets and plants.
Rhubarb- 7 fat or 9 thin $3
scallions- 5/spring onions4/ baby garlic5/ bunch of scapes5 $1
herb bunch $1 (these don't sell but are free for me to grow for the most part- basil sells and I will probably do bigger bunches for more money later)
flower bouquet $3
radish - about 7 I believe $1
bag of spinach or baby lettuce $3 unwashed
baby bok choy $2?
turnip bunch usually 4-5 for $1 but sometimes $2
carrots 7 for $2 generally
broccoli quart $3
cabbage $3 usually but varies on size
large cauliflower maybe $5
large leek/onion/garlic bulb $1 each (great money makers)
beets/kohlrabi/small ruties $2 for about 3
beans $2 quart in season but they don't sell at all ever
potatoes $2 quart can't raise price on these since they don't sell well
edamame $2 pint sells surprisingly well
peppers sold best at $3 quart for sweet and pint for hot
cherry tom pint $2.50 doesn't sell well
heirloom tomatoes sell for about 3/$2 in season or $2 a pint early season, or 75c. I can't sell the pounder size.
zucs and cucs are hardly worth it for me
squash .75/pound weighed and marked ahead same with melons

So the container pricing worked much better for tomatoes, peppers, zucs, cucs, eggplant but it takes more time and room on the table than putting them in a big cute basket.

It was brought forward by a spammer that has not been deleted.

Yes prices have changed a bunch over the years.

I am in east texas