Backyard Garden
Many people plant vegetable gardens. Most end up with an abundance or an over abundance of tomatoes, peppers, squash, lettuce, onions, potatoes, etc... (even after canning, freezing and drying.) This excess can also help you and your family in these tough economic times. Many people will pay a good price for your excess garden produce.
Instructions
1. Flea Market or Farmer's Market:
Look at local flea market or Farmer's Market Find out booth availability and rates (usually no more than $20.00 a weekend) also find out their vendor set up times and their sales and operation rules.
In general, a Flea Market will have less competition for fresh produce than a Farmer's Market, but a Farmer's Market will have more people specifically looking to buy produce. Plan on providing your own tables (about $30 at Walmart) and chairs, although some Flea Markets do rent tables for vendors on a day by day, and on weekend or weekly basis.
You booth must be kept clean and sanitary. Wash all your produce before you take it to sell. Trim cabbage and other produce leaves after you arrive. Bring a misting bottle with clean water to mist your leaf vegetable to keep them from wilting. Most markets will demand that you keep your booth area clean of any spoiled or bad fruit or vegetables. A good salesman will do this to attract customers. I recommend having a sealed garbage can for any waste vegetables or leaves, these should be taken home daily for your compost pile).
Check out prices at the supermarket and other vendors for the same type vegetables. Price your garden vegetables at the same price or slightly higher than grocery store prices, yours are fresh picked and will have better taste.
Business is busiest Saturdays and Sunday afternoons.
2. Gathering Vegetables:
Pick your vegetables in the morning before you leave for the market so they are as fresh as possible. Experience will show you how much you can sell in a day. If you don't use pesticides and no pesticides have ever been used in your garden, you are able to say your vegetables are "pesticide free" which is a premium to most people. Make sure if you pesticides that you wash the vegetables before selling. (wash them at home.)
Don't ignore fruit trees that are going unpicked in your neighborhood. Ask a neighbor with such a tree if you can gather the fruit when it is ripe. Give some to the owner and use what you need and sell the excess. Offer to pick up all the fallen fruit for them and dispose of it (do not use fallen fruit, it spoils quickly and picks up parasites from the soil).
3. Displaying and Selling Your Vegetables:
Display your produce in baskets, bags or boxes. Attractive displays help sell more. Price everything with signs. "4 for a $1.00", "$2.50 a pound", "$5.00 per bag", don't make the customer guess.
Use signs like "HOME GROWN", "Pesticide Free"(only if it is true), "LOCAL PRODUCE". You are selling locally produced, good tasting vegetables. Don't worry about some of the tomatoes having a blemish or every bit of your produce being perfect. People will buy the best first, but most people know that natural fruits and vegetables don't look perfect and your customers will generally understand that.
At the end of the day, last hour or so, discount everything, or offer a deal to the other vendors if you are at a Flea Market. The goal is to bring fresh produce every day and have no waste. Of course what you don't sell you can always eat.
4. Cash Box: Have a cash box, bag or something to keep money in. This allows you to have change on hand and keep your money organized. Have at least $20.00 in ones, some $5s and quarters, dimes and nickels. offer extra produce in exchange for change!
5. Road Side Stand: If you have a property on a busy road or highway you might start small with a couple of tables and if you make some money build a roadside stand. Lots of High School and College students have earned money for college this way. Some road side stands have turned into big businesses.
Tags: Farmer Market, Flea Market, will have, your produce, fallen fruit, fresh produce