Have you ever had a year when it seemed to rain every time you put up a market tent? Not those drizzly little spring showers, but honest-to-gosh sidewalk-washers that made you glad to have good rubber boots, a decent slicker and that the ink used in U.S. dollars does not run?

Here in the Northeast, we often have periods where the weather cycle gets stuck, week after week. I value dependable rainfall and love the effect that a good rain has on my farm, but there have been certain years when I wished it would pick any day but market day to shower me with its blessings. Setting up in the rain, selling in the rain, and finally breaking down in the rain are not high on my list of pleasant activities. But with a few changes to the setup and some anticipation of the predicted conditions, you can make a rainy market work to your advantage.

A good forecast is essential to making the type of adjustments required for a successful rainy market. It seems that the current state of the art in weather forecasting regarding precipitation is to predict the worst it could possibly be, so that the forecaster’s rear end is covered no matter what happens. This can end up coming off your tail, if you believe those gloomy predictions and leave food in the field, expecting a washout, only to find the sun peeking through on market day.

Learn where to access and how to read local, regional and national weather radars, and make your own best forecast. Local knowledge, natural signs and old sayings are often every bit as accurate as the latest computer models, so try to take advantage of the local weather lore that has accumulated through the generations. Wind strength and direction, as well as predicted high and low temperatures in commercial forecasts seem to have higher rates of reliability, even from that most generic source of information, the National Weather Service weather radio. Those predictions help me to establish dry zones under portions of my tents, estimate the usefulness of side curtains and calculate drip lines for dry customer access and egress.

The most essential piece of equipment for selling in the rain is a good quality tent, and it is vital that it is properly erected. Market tents have a distinct life span, and once the nylon or frame starts to deteriorate, it is time to replace it. Popular brands include Caravan, EZ Up and First Up, but there are other serviceable models available. Most tents have Velcro patches at each corner pole and it is essential to have the canopy positioned correctly over them so that there is the least amount of sag in the seams that run from each corner to the peak of your canopy. The bottom of each canopy face should have some heavy elastic that needs to be pulled tight outside of all frame members to remove slack from the faces. The slightest amount of sag can create a puddle on your canopy top, and as the puddle fills it rapidly becomes quite heavy and may balloon downward in a threatening manner. Pushing up with a broom from underneath provides temporary relief but the sudden cascade off your canopy may risk soaking customers or fellow vendors. Left unattended, the weight of the accumulated water can overwhelm the structural integrity of your tent, leading to total collapse or serious damage to the frame.

Rainstorms are often accompanied by gusty winds, and it is important to have your tent adequately anchored or weighted down. Your market should have guidelines for specific weights per leg or pole of your tents, but a bare minimum of 25 pounds per leg will help keep things grounded.  (For photos of good and bad canopy weights, see the Washington State Farmers Market Association guide at http://www.wafarmersmarkets.com/info/market_info_canopy.html). Whether or not there is any forecast of wind, I routinely place each leg of my tent inside a half concrete block, making sure to catch a portion of the footplate under the block. I carry a set of 20 pound sand bags with short lengths of rope or bungee cords to secure them to the legs for those days when a blustery forecast threatens. I have seen heavy canvas sand bags that wrap around each leg and attach stout Velcro straps, and they make a neat, one-piece solution to securing your tent. Tying your tent to your trailer or truck is an excellent additional precaution, and a wise back-up plan when anticipating gusts over 25 miles per hour.

Attaching side curtains involves some strategic thinking about sight lines into your tent, wind direction, and strength. While your canopy top is trying to get things airborne in the wind, your side curtains will act like spinnakers, trying to push or pull your tent sideways. Heavy, orange-handled spring clamps are effective at securing the side curtains to the tent legs when clamped directly over the Velcro straps that come with the curtains. If you need a dry corner for garlic braids, onions, dried flowers or packaged products, you can overlap the side curtains slightly on one tent leg before clamping them in place. I never fasten the side curtains all the way down the legs, allowing the bottom third to flap freely under my tables. This helps to relieve some of the sideways pressure from the wind, but it also means that any storage under the tables must be classified as wet storage. Four by four blocks come in handy under the tables to keep bushel baskets, totes or boxes up above any potential contamination from puddles or parking lot runoff. You may find that the sight lines into your booth are improved by leaving the forward edges of your side curtains loose, instead of strapped to the front legs of your tent. You can then fold or furl the lower front corner back and up and clamp it back with a stout, spring-loaded clamp. Those can be quickly released should the full downpour occur, but having the front of the side curtains pulled back can really lessen the cave effect.

Rain gutters
If you are lucky enough to have more than a single 10×10 foot spot for your tents, then you are faced with an interesting problem in the rain. Where the tents butt up against each other you are concentrating the canopy runoff, usually right in the middle of your booth! After experimenting with clamping folded side curtains to the edges of abutting tents, I realized that an internal gutter would be easy to hang and would be far more reliable. I bought a 10-foot length of 3” square plastic downspout and sliced it down one corner with a skill saw, creating a slit wide enough for two tent edges to drop into. Two adjustable Velcro straps hung from the canopy frame at the front and back allow the gutter to pitch toward the rear of the booth, protecting the whole center of my sales area. Round white plastic drainage pipe should work equally well, with careful consideration of weight, flexibility and the possible need for additional Velcro strapping. I routinely hang the gutter if there is even the threat of rain, in the faint hope that my extra precautions will somehow prevent the inevitable, and in the sure knowledge that it is a lot easier to do so before the tables are all set up.

How you lay out your produce on top of the tables can really make a difference on a bleak and dreary day. Look for your brightest produce to put in a prime location, whether it is sparkling orange carrots, beautiful rainbow chard, or pearly white sweet corn. As much as possible, create color and texture contrast on your most exposed tables. Avoid a drab sea of green, or a table with nothing but leafy vegetables. Mix it up with glowing scarlet beets or freshly scrubbed new potatoes, anything that can handle a substantial amount of water or a nuisance leek from the drip line. I have even sold tomatoes in the rain, although a tactical error in my planning was exposed one day when I noticed them bobbing around like red rubber ducks – I had forgotten to drill drain holes in my new wooden display boxes!

On a rainy day, the dry stuff that you sell really needs to be in your guaranteed dry spots. Sometimes just being on the high side of a table can be enough, but in my setup it is usually one of the back corners with side curtains carefully overlapped and clamped to a tent leg that remains the driest. Take special care for your scales or calculators; I have slipped mine into clear poly bags on really rough days and still been able to work and read the scale. Even in the dry areas of my tent, I like to invest in a little extra insurance by laying down short pieces of 2×4 lumber under my display boxes and baskets. That extra inch and a half provides real protection from the wandering rivulets that will appear where you least expect or want them. Needless to say, corrugated cardboard containers, unless heavily waxed, are a potential disaster in the rain. Plastic totes or buckets are safe bets; bushel baskets, good quality wicker and wooden display boxes stand up very well to moist conditions, but will need thorough drying right after your market to prevent mildew and staining.

Signage can take a real beating in the rain. Even if your permanent markers remain colorfast, the paper stock quickly wilts and just will not stand up to the job anymore. My handwriting is so poor that I switched to using my home computer for that task several years ago. I quickly graduated from copy paper to card stock, and lately I have taken to laminating the signs front and back with a simple hand crank machine that can handle a sign up to 8.5” wide. As long as the edges are well sealed, the signs hold up beautifully in the rain. A laser printer could provide weatherproof lettering, but you would still need to find waterproof stock for your base sign material. Chalk boards work well if kept completely dry and hand painted signs only improve with age, as long as you are able to keep your prices current with market conditions.

When market is over
Breaking down in the rain can be ugly, but if you are able to maneuver your truck, van or trailer up to the back of your tent, you can often throw one of the side curtains over the vehicle door and temporarily extend you rain protection for the loading process. Dry stuff goes into the most protected transport areas and wet stuff goes into lower positions or toward the tail of the truck. Wet signs, banners and table cloths will need to be spread out or hung to dry once you get back to the farm. In early spring, when the greenhouse is crowded, I generally rely on an open space in a barn for drying the tents and gear. Ropes strung between barn beams help to dry tablecloths and banners. Baskets and boxes get stacked upside down in loose pyramids to promote air-drying. The tents get special care, making sure that puddles are not left in the partially opened canopies, where dust and barn debris can settle and stain the fabric. It may take a day or two for the equipment to dry out in the barn. Later in the season, when the greenhouse is available, the drying time will be cut dramatically, but it is best to remove your equipment as soon as it is dry to minimize bleaching and UV damage.

A sunny attitude
Equally important to the way your produce is laid out or the foresight that you have shown in setting up a temporarily dry environment, your own personal appearance and attitude will strongly affect your sales success in the rain. I bring a spare raincoat, shirt and sometimes pants that I change into before the market officially opens. I am looking to wear bright and cheery colors, and would greatly prefer a yellow slicker to black. One piece of quirky clothing, like a Sou’wester hat or bright red rain boots can provide a positive signal to your customers that you are not depressed by the day, but rather looking to have some fun. A warm smile and a friendly greeting, a “docking station” next to a tent leg for umbrellas, providing plastic handle bags instead of your usual paper sacks are all signs that you are confidant and prepared for your customers. On a rainy day I always make a special point of thanking my customers for coming out, and more often than not they thank me in return for being there. It is great if you have a little something to offer customers as a token of your appreciation; a small free item or a taste of something new or even a slight discount on their whole order. If you can elicit smiles from your customesr on rainy days you will be rewarded over the course of the season.

Here are the factors that help you to keep selling in the rain:
•Good Forecast (predicted rainfall, predicted wind, radar images, local lore)
•Good Equipment (canopy, side curtains, weights, spacer blocks, gutter)
•Tight Canopy (corners to peak, canopy faces)
•Heavy, orange handled spring clamps
•Good Attitude

Dan Pratt grows certified-organic vegetables and sells at farmers markets in Hadley, Massachusetts. For more information, visit his web site at www.astartefarm.com.