More on mingling with people - our season selling veggie plants at the local Farmers Market...
I think I posted a few things about this a few weeks ago. Here it is, early May, and we've already finished (we sell for a few Fridays and Saturdays - once my heirloom seekers have their stuff, it isn't worth our time out there, so we call it quits).
anyway - a few points from more of a tiny business than a small business - and I am not a natural entrepreneur (it still feels funny for either my wife - with her sewing products - or me, with my plants - to charge friends for things - we tend to be the "give it away" types - but then again, if you do that, we've found things aren't truly valued...so weird.)
What farmers/growers charge for their produce is often really low when the effort/hours that go into it are factored in. Before we were occasional sellers, and just shopped on Saturdays, we would often think of some things as more expensive than they should be - 2.00 a pound for tomatoes, 3.00 for a small bunch of asparagus, etc. But when the fickleness of mother nature is factWe ored in, the cost of supplies - from seed to water to gas to haul it - not even considering the labor - weighed together with the healthy nature of the produce - we will never complain about costs again. It is a hard job.
Price vs quality - we charge 3.00 for our heirloom tomato and unusual pepper plants. It is all just me - from seed saving to seed planting to transplanting to raising, taking to market - you name it. "capitalism" (the market place dynamics) is fascinating - I am competing with big home depot like operations that flood the market with 1.00 per six pack veggie plants. I tend to sell to people who seek me out on the web or know me from seed savers, etc - and get very little passerby business. But...every year a few newbies to heirlooms try a few - and come back for more the next year. The relationship between cost and value is specific, and personal - sometimes those things more expensive are for a good reason....and vice versa.
The vast majority - 99 plus percent - of my customers are some of the nicest people imaginable - we call them our "annual" friends. I would guess most of them are democratic/liberal/progressive - just from our discussions. My customers are every conceivable demographic. It is exhausting (lots of talking all day long!), but so inspiring. And even those who are ideologically different (it becomes clear at their reaction when they see my truck - the DU bumper stickers, Obama stickers, etc) - share a common love of growing things, being outdoors, good food. it can really help.
We've been doing this for 15 years....at first we were known as the "Dixie Cup people" for our very rudimentary way of offering plants. We've watched children be born and grow, people grow older, some with serious illnesses, and quite a few have passed away. We've been part of lives - and their lives have impacted my wife and I - for 15 years. amazing.
I can be as partisan as anyone here, can get fired up, withdraw or do battle. I feel really lucky to have those three or so weekends per year to get out there and mingle with all sorts of people and share our passions of growing things.....
and so for another season we are done. I am glad - it is exhausting, and probably not particularly profitable when considering time and materials. But it is so, so worth it. I get to spend the day telling the stories of all of the tomatoes to people - since most of the varieties each has their own story. Which is linked to a particular area of the country, person, or event. some were wedding gifts, others smuggled here by immigrants. All kinds of stories.
Anyway, as I ponder the beer I am about to open, just thought I'd share some of the buzz of the day, and the season....
hope you are all having a good weekend.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I was trying to log off and go get something real done, but saw this and had to read it.
You almost have me convinced to try something with the meat. I have heard great stories from friends that sell, but ... marketing ... ugh. 
I feel that reluctance - same as you described.
Who knows? maybe I should give it a try. Thanks for this!
Funnily enough, we're off up the volcano today to shop for veggies and fruit at the farmers' markets. I'll let you know if we come across any interesting tomato varieties...
