It is a little hard to believe, but that time of year is here again. The time of great stress and greater returns. No, not Christmas, the opening of the farmers’ market.

We all know that growing great vegetables takes a lot–a lot of planning, management and labor. We have to decide on what we plan to grow, what varieties are best, order seed and supplies, time the seeding for transplant, seed and/or transplant into the field, manage fertility, moisture, and insect and disease pressure, fight weeds, harvest, and clean and package the produce. Whew! But that’s just the beginning, and for us, arguably the easy part!

Growing all that gorgeous produce isn’t worth much if you can’t market it and that is another whole set of special skills. In the outdoor growing season, we market our farm’s products – vegetables, cut flowers, greenhouse plants and eggs – as well as promoting and taking orders for our beef and chicken, at our producer-only farmers’ market. It’s a great way to put our faces and our wonderful products in front of a large segment of our area population. So, what does it take to ‘go to market’?

First, being at least somewhat organized helps. For all our ‘office’ type supplies, we have a market bag. It’s actually a gardening bag given to us at Christmas one year. It is made of tough nylon with a capacious interior, heavily stitched handles and lots of outside pockets meant to hold trowels, pruners, etc.

In the interior, we keep folders with permanent signs created on the computer for our plant sign holders. These are used in front of plants such as a group of antique roses, a table full of herb or vegetable transplants, for information and pricing. These galvanized holders, used by the ‘big box’ stores in their nursery departments are cheap (sign and base under $6), versatile and available at wholesale nursery supply houses. The signs can be created once with pictures, cultural information and pricing, printed on our color printer and used all season. If it is windy, we use those big black paperclips to hold the paper to the sign backing.

We also carry ‘blackboard’ signs for pricing our vegetables. These are heavy cards with blackboard paint on them that our state agriculture department makes available with the ‘Kentucky Proud’ logo. They are wonderful with colored chalk for items that change from week to week. Similar small chalkboards can usually be found in the crafts section at discount or hobby stores.

Battery-powered calculators are also in that bag – and never leave it. It is not funny to get to market and not have a calculator. It is also prudent to change the batteries at the beginning of the season, just in case. We also have a nice supply of scratch paper – a great way to recycle paper printed on one side rather than throwing it away. We cut in half and staple at top left corner.

The pockets are stuffed with chalk, many pens, sharpie marker, blank plant tags (you can’t believe how many people take a tag out of a pot and keep it!), rubber bands (bouquets), pruners for flower stems and neatening plants, paper towels, paper clips, thank-you bags for produce (we also carry an extra box of these), plastic bags for bouquets and other miscellaneous stuff.

Last, but not least, we keep our tablecloths in the top of the bag. Although we didn’t have them for years, cloths made from lengths of nice print fabric, hemmed at the ends, the same on all our tables, unifies our booth.

Other essentials
Another absolute necessity is the cash box. We use an actual metal box with bill and coin compartments. Since we may have 3 or 4 people waiting on customers on a busy day, a central place for money works better for us. The one piece of advice that we have on that subject is to take plenty of change. We start with about $150 worth of change and since it is not unusual for a customer to buy $7 worth of produce and hand us a $50 or $100 bill, we keep a bank bag locked in the truck with extra change for these situations – and to help other vendors if it happens to them.

Two years ago we bought an electronic scale and absolutely love it! So much easier than a hanging scale (which we used for years) and having to figure fractions of pounds! We’ll admit we don’t program it, but just being able to key in a price saves us much time, and we’re sure, many errors. They aren’t a necessity, but make market a lot easier.

We use 6’ and 8’ plastic tables with folding legs. We used to use plywood tables, but the plastic ones are so much easier to handle, that we now use them exclusively. We typically set them up in a “U” shape, with the back of the U at the truck, so customers ‘walk into” our space. When we are making flower bouquets in our second booth, the tables form a double U or an S, depending on the amount of produce and flowers we have to display.

Weighting down your shade
Some sort of shade is imperative for us. Our market is in a parking lot and the sun in mid-summer can wilt farmers and produce alike. We use EZ-Ups and have been very satisfied. They are easy to set up and last well. Whatever brand you have, if you will be setting up alone, practice at home first! And, whatever type you use, please secure it in some way. An errant wind can pick one up and set it sailing – and your market doesn’t need that kind of insurance claim! On the market farming listserv recently, Errol Castens had a great suggestion for weighting EZ-Ups: Fill a coffee can with concrete and put a bolt, head down, in the top before it hardens. The leg of your canopy has a hole in it the bolt fits through. Fasten with a nut, and you have great weights that also add headroom under the canopy. And, they aren’t as hard to handle as concrete blocks. Lastly, stenciling your farm name on the canopy is a great way for your customers to find you.

We carry a wide assortment of attractive baskets in many sizes. Although piling produce on the table can work, we like to display it more attractively. It is important for the customer to be drawn to our space. We may have 20 or more vendors at a mid-summer market, and we are all selling about the same items. Our display can really set us apart. For really sensitive items, such as fresh herbs, we may put a piece of Blue Ice in the bottom of the basket, covered by a decorative towel to help keep them fresh. As our quantity of an item declines – from all the sales!! – we downsize the container and consolidate containers on fewer tables. It keeps the selection looking less ‘picked over’ and more appealing to the later customers. You’ll also get better plant sales if the customers have a box to put pots in. We find that beer flats, usually available in dumpsters behind convenience stores, work perfectly. You can put a LOT of 4” herb plants in a beer flat!

How to transport it all
Of course, all of this stuff has to get to market, along with the produce, cut flowers, plants and eggs. For years, it all went in one, then two pickup trucks. We agonized over which plants and flowers went right behind the cab, which went in the cab, and which we took a chance on harming on the trip. An enclosed trailer would be really nice, but is pretty pricy! Last year, we had a brainstorm. We have a 16 foot tag axle trailer (belonging to Alison’s father) that is stored at our farm. Several years ago, we bought a livestock enclosure that mounts on it so we can haul our cattle to the processor. Last year, we bought a heavy tarp that covers the livestock enclosure side to side and to the trailer floor in front. We fastened it with cable ties. Voila! An enclosed trailer for the cost of a tarp! When we’re ready to haul cattle, the market season is over. So, we take the tarp off and store it for the winter. What could be easier or cheaper?

Having a trailer has really changed things. We don’t have to worry about wind damage on anything. We strap the tables on their edges to one side, so we don’t have to unload everything just to get to the tables. The tables, EZ-Ups, crates, signs, etc. stay in the trailer all season. Rainy days, although a real pain to market in, no longer present the issue of ruining our flowers or tomato boxes. Extra plants and produce can stay in the shaded trailer until we need to restock tables. Now, if we could just get some electricity….

The produce is harvested and everything packed in the trailer. We take a deep breath, grab a light supper and try to get to bed at a reasonable time. Our market opens at 7 a.m. and we know we need to be there by 6 a.m. to get set up. It takes a little over 30 minutes to drive there – not a bad drive. And, since we raise animals, there are chores before we leave. So, the alarm is set for 4 a.m. While Paul does animal chores (with a head-lamp for light), Alison gets coffee made (an absolute necessity for us!), a little “to-go” breakfast, loads coolers with eggs and other perishable items, loads the truck with the cash box and other last minute items and starts loading produce boxes from the cooler. Usually,

Paul is finished with chores, so this becomes a team effort. Whew! Off to market!

At market, we set up the EZ-Ups, set up the tables, and put on the cloths. Paul, Alison, and possibly an intern start unloading produce boxes, plants and flowers. Paul usually sets up his produce, knowing exactly how he wants to arrange it for the best display. It’s nice to have contrasting colors and textures. He’ll also make sure the most sensitive items are in the deepest shade, and the most popular ones, like tomatoes, on the ends of the tables where they can be seen easily from most of the market – drawing customers.
Alison usually sets up the cut flowers, arranging them for easy bouquet making. The extra buckets go under the table until they’re needed. The cut Oriental lilies go right up front – so their fragrance wafts down to both ends of the market. Most customers love the smell and will follow it to our booth. Pre-made bouquets are put in a stand out front for people in a hurry and to attract attention.
Potted herb and vegetable transplants are set up on a special table Paul designed and made from plywood that will display (18) 1020 flats at an angle and knocks down into flat pieces. Various potted lilies, perennials, etc are grouped around legs of the canopy. Looks like we’re ready. Paul goes out front to look at it from the customers’ viewpoint and makes any last adjustments.
Okay, it’s 6:58 and we’re ready. Oh, wait–we still need smiles on our faces! Now, we’re ready. Bring on the customers! It’s showtime.

Paul and Alison Wiediger are the owners of Au Naturel Farm in Edmonson County, Kentucky. Their book about high tunnel production, Walking to Spring, is available from GFM for $15 plus $4 postage. See page 2 for book ordering information. Contact them at wiediger@msn.com; or visit www.aunaturel.home stead.com.