Monday, October 4, 2010

Lucky 16 on the homestretch

  We managed to get between the raindrops this weekend of the October 2nd and 3rd for a great fall weekend of selling.  The product line is far different in just a few short weeks.  I have a wish that if I could sell cantaloupes and corn all season I would move around like a migrant farm worker and just sell.  Maybe think of going to sell in Florida and Texas for the winters.   I don’t think it is a real viable idea, but it makes sense in my warped concept of what I would like to do. 

  Last week saw some of the worst rainstorms in a long long time.   We had rain from Wed-Fri. That made for a ‘wait and see’ attitude about what to do for selling last weekend.  We got the weekend in, but it started raining again on Sunday night and is raining this week as well.  This week should not be nearly as bad, if you listen to the predictions.

  What we had this weekend were pumpkins of many variety.   Part of our vision of selling is to educate and engage our customer as well.  We started that with only selling locally grown, in season, picked fresh, pesticide and chemical free vegetables and produce.  It has taken a bit of time to get across to some that is what we do.  We may not and are not the cheapest produce, but we are a fair price for what we sell.  There is a competitor at the market that is very up front about the fact he goes to the Philadelphia docks for his product.  He buys as floor prices produce that has not been accepted by the distributors or wholesalers or markets.  He buys items that have very little shelf life left.  He buys regardless of country of origin or method of growing.  He can sell for the lowest price because by Sunday much of his product is rotting on the stand.  We chose NEVER to be that type of operation, even if it means always being a bit smaller.

   The second area we hope to engage and educate is that there are hundreds of varieties of most vegetables.  The easiest one this season to do that with is pumpkins.  Everyone, given the first glimpse, sees a pumpkin as the one we grew up with making Jack-O-Lanterns out of.  However, that is only one type.  There are pumpkins of all colors, sizes, shapes, textures.  Much like the potatoes which have the same variety, the U.S. market has focused on only selling one or two types with mass production and advertising and marketing so that we all believe that is the only type of pumpkin or potato we want.  We have blue pumpkins, pumpkins with what looks like peanuts attached to them, long neck pumpkins, goose neck pumpkins, Cinderella pumpkins and more.  We don’t even scratch the surface of what is available in variety.  That is a goal for 2011 and beyond to do more of that.

   We have only two more weekends to go for the market, but are already planning for next year.  This Saturday, at the T&R Farm Shack, Chuck will be demonstrating weaving techniques.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.