Discuss your tips, tricks and experiences growing and selling vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants and herbs.
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July 17, 2015 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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HELP..in a bind
I have about 19 million cherry tomatoes and no quart/pint baskets to sell them in. Market is tomorrow, any ideas?
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July 17, 2015 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: CT
Posts: 290
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Chinese food containers? Run to one of the restaurants and see if they'll sell you a case or so..
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July 17, 2015 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 2,052
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You need one basket for each size, and use it to measure the cherries.
Get small paper bags at the grocery store (lunch bags) and load the cherries into the bags once the customer buys them. I do this, and I even let the customer choose the tomatoes they put into the basket for measuring purpose only. That way I only need a couple of baskets. |
July 17, 2015 | #4 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: CT
Posts: 290
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July 17, 2015 | #5 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: AL
Posts: 1,993
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Baskets cost money, so folks put everything in lunch bags. That way it helps protect the produce too, being in a dark paper bag if it's hot out and they walking all around. |
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July 17, 2015 | #6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: glendora ca
Posts: 2,560
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“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." |
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July 17, 2015 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
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Do you do any home canning? I haven't tried it, but I think wide-mouth pint jars would make an attractive display of cherry tomatoes. I'd buy two or three dozen jars, and then of course dump each jar into a plastic or paper sack as the customers buy them. The jars last nearly forever and have a million uses.
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July 17, 2015 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 4,488
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I do the same thing with the baskets. I buy brown paper lunchbags. But instead of buying baskets I use the blue containers that mushrooms come in to display the smaller tomatoes like salads and cherries. Then I empty the customers selections in the lunch bags for each sale. The big brown grocery bag in the background contains my extra bags and also more tomatoes to sell when the display gets sold. As you can see though, the bigger tomatoes are almost sold out. I usually sell out by 10 am. In this picture I only have 2 big tomatoes left, 1 cucumber, and 1 yellow squash.
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Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture Last edited by Redbaron; July 17, 2015 at 06:45 PM. |
July 17, 2015 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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A pelican can hold exactly one quart of tomatoes in its beak.
So go get a pelican and some paper lunch bags and you will be set. The kids will go nuts watching the pet pelican measure out the tomatoes. You can sell goldfish on the side so folks can let the kids feed it. Worth |
July 17, 2015 | #10 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: CT
Posts: 290
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July 17, 2015 | #11 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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July 17, 2015 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 2,052
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I sell pints for $5. I have over 50 varieties of cherries (not too many of any), and I let the customer fill the pint basket. They love it. I wouldn't stay in business at less than $4 per pint and I am not getting rich at $5 per pint. I usually sell out, too.
Lee Goodwin of J & L Gardens sells in Santa Fe and he charges primo prices and sells out in 2 or 3 hours. Of course his stuff is amazing, and I sell about 30 of his varieties. |
July 17, 2015 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
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Holy cow, I only get $3 per pint at the most. At my last market, I dropped it to $2.50, and I have so many tomatoes to get rid of tomorrow morning, I am considering dropping the price to $2 per pint. That may not happen until the last two hours of market.
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July 17, 2015 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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Well I only have 10 varieties and I mixed them myself. Here is the last box packed. I sure would like to get 5$ per but in my location idk if that's feasible. Will start out at 4$ I think and see how folks react.
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July 17, 2015 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 76
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Cole, my suggestion is to sell for $3 each or 2/$5.00. People will buy more and you have 18 million to sell.
Edit. Never mind my comment. I got confused about who was the OP. Last edited by Slg Garden; July 17, 2015 at 10:14 PM. |
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