Re thinking Farmers Markets

Cole_Robbie · August 5, 2016

June is the month to sell tomatoes in Illinois. By mid-July, it becomes pointless.

That's part of the reason I let my garden fall apart at this time of year. As the summer progresses, it becomes more work to keep everything pruned, trellised, and sprayed while the demand for tomatoes disappears.

I can still sell about $200 a week worth of my mixed color cherry and saladette mix at this time of year, but that's at $2 a pint, $3 a quart, which are prices so low that they disgust even me. And that's going to two markets. My stuff should fly off the table at that price, instead of taking all morning to sell, but I still take a few home.

It would make the most sense for me to grow everything under plastic, sell it in June, and be done by the first week of July. And then figure out something else to plant besides tomatoes.

August 5, 2016	#12
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	June is the month to sell tomatoes in Illinois. By mid-July, it becomes pointless. That's part of the reason I let my garden fall apart at this time of year. As the summer progresses, it becomes more work to keep everything pruned, trellised, and sprayed while the demand for tomatoes disappears. I can still sell about $200 a week worth of my mixed color cherry and saladette mix at this time of year, but that's at $2 a pint, $3 a quart, which are prices so low that they disgust even me. And that's going to two markets. My stuff should fly off the table at that price, instead of taking all morning to sell, but I still take a few home. It would make the most sense for me to grow everything under plastic, sell it in June, and be done by the first week of July. And then figure out something else to plant besides tomatoes.