Variety for farmers markets!

My wife and I shopped a farmers market this past weekend. One family had a big trailer that took up probably three booth spaces and they sold just about every fresh vegetable you can think of. He had three or four lugs of tomatoes on the counter. Every tomato was almost equal in size, shape, and color. They were very attractive and perfect for a farmers market.

Someone on a recent thread asked for recommendation for a good hybrid to grow for market. I can't remember which thread it was or who asked. I asked the farmer at the market which variety he was selling and he said it was Phoenix. I had forgotten all about Phoenix which I grew before I started growing almost all open pollinated varieties. It was an excellent hybrid in my garden providing consistency in size, shape, and color. It also had a very good taste and stored well. Most of the large open pollinated varieties I grow do not hold up well in storage. When they begin to ripen, they become very soft within a couple of days. Phoenix always seemed to store well in a ripe condition for over a week.

Ted

[feldon30]

I would look at one of the other threads on the topic of tomatoes for farmer's markets cause we're just going to retread the same ground we've already covered.

What sells well in one area will just sit in another. In the outskirts of Houston, perfectly red, round, uniform, flavorless baseballs will sell. Inside the loop? You'd better bring heirlooms, the lumpier and tastier the better.

Yep, you are probably right Feldon. I've seen a lot of inquiries on the subject on different threads. I posted the info on Phoenix for information purposes only. It wasn't my intent to start a new conversation. I would be interested to see if anyone else agrees or disagrees on the value of Phoenix as a commercial tomato.

Like the folks inside the loop in Houston, I would probably choose the knobby, gnarley varieties for myself. Where I live, most people want perfect looking tomatoes with home grown taste. To me, that usually means a hybrid variety.

Ted

[Keger]

I think Phoenix is a hot weather option as well? I did well this year with Early Goliath, last year with Tasti Lee. I'm all for giving the customer base what they want. The stuff sells better that way.

[Cole_Robbie]

I've got Big Beef out the wazoo right now. I'm so sick of red tomatoes. Next year I might refuse to grow anything red. That's what other vendors have by the truckload. Mine taste better, so I get more customers, but I still don't like having competition.

Next year, I want to be able to ask customers "Would you like to try some organic Tasmanian Chocolate?" No other vendor can do that.

[Keger]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I've got Big Beef out the wazoo right now. I'm so sick of red tomatoes. Next year I might refuse to grow anything red. That's what other vendors have by the truckload. Mine taste better, so I get more customers, but I still don't like having competition.

Next year, I want to be able to ask customers "Would you like to try some organic Tasmanian Chocolate?" No other vendor can do that.

I hear ya. A nitch I think is key. I am doing well with microgreens. Been using maters as a loss leader.

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I've got Big Beef out the wazoo right now. I'm so sick of red tomatoes. Next year I might refuse to grow anything red. That's what other vendors have by the truckload. Mine taste better, so I get more customers, but I still don't like having competition.

Next year, I want to be able to ask customers "Would you like to try some organic Tasmanian Chocolate?" No other vendor can do that.

Offer them a little piece of KBX on a tooth pick. People I give them to are always surprised that such a beautiful, orange colored tomato can taste so good. I think they are expecting it to taste like a mango or pineapple because of it's color when in fact it tastes like a great big red tomato.

Ted

[Cole_Robbie]

I like your idea. Other vendors have been offering cut samples. The problem in my state is that it is supposed to trigger a number of food safety requirements, which are too cumbersome to follow. But the state seems to be out of money and doesn't come to inspect anyone any more.

That's what's convenient about cherry tomatoes. If I give someone a tomato, and they just happen to choose to bite into it, that's not offering samples. I did give one customer a tennis-ball sized Big Beef because she told me they wouldn't taste good. She came back eating it like an apple and bought a box of them.

[AKmark]

I sample 100-200lbs a year easily, it builds customer confidence, and if the product is good they will buy, tell their friends, and will be back again, the customer base will grow exponentially. Try Momotaro for a smooth pink, Crnkovic Yugolslavian for a pink beefsteak,(crack resistant and awesome) they r good and something different than a brandywine.
I have people step right past the perfect looking, and good, Early Girls, Jet Star, etc. much of the time, for what they know is above and beyond what others are selling.
Engage the customer, don't just let them stand there looking, suggestive sell, sample if a question is asked about taste. If you have good product, this works very well, people are coerced easily, and oddly can be very trusting.

[feldon30]

If only we could get stupid regulations abolished that require all cutting of fresh produce to happen in a $100k+ certified kitchen. Sampling produce at farmer's markets has essentially been outlawed in many states, counties, etc.

Many grocery stores still provide samples of products like cheese and fruit on little platters with a clear plastic dome cover and toothpicks. Do most of the non sampling rules apply only to farmers markets or everywhere food products are sold?

My wife loves fresh, sweet grapes which we often purchase at the grocery store. It's impossible to tell from sight alone if a bunch of grapes will be sweet or tart. We always sample them. It prevents tossing bunches of grapes in the trash when we get them home and discover they are as sour as a lemon.

We rarely purchase peaches or plums at the grocery store because they are usually tasteless and I don't want to attempt to sample them in the grocery store. Sampling seems to be customary at roadside stands and farmers markets. I probably will not purchase them if I can't taste them first.

I sold watermelons as a kid and always had a long slender knife to cut a triangular shaped plug from the melon so a customer could sample the melon. I haven't seen that done in many years.

Ted

[Cole_Robbie]

When you see a sample offered at a grocery store, they have a dedicated worker doing nothing but samples. The worker will follow all food safety steps, like wearing gloves and offering samples in disposable plastic cups. There is a hand washing facility available. If the food is outside, it was prepared in a kitchen and covered outside while not in use.

All of those rules are easy to follow for a grocery store, but when you're selling off the back of a pickup truck in a parking lot, it's a lot more difficult. Every state is different in their exact rules, as well as the strictness with which they are enforced.

I find it easier to just give away an intact tomato to anyone who questions whether or not they might taste good. I don't remember anyone not buying more afterward. Plus other customers at the table will hear them rave about the good taste.