Down Mulberry Lane

Farmer's Market: Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Yesterday was market.  I was so tired, I just didn't get it typed up. 

I took to market farm fresh eggs,  granola (5 varieties), strawberry rhubarb jam, organic zucchini, organic yellow squash and organic cucumbers and some garden produce of grape tomatoes.  My daughters brought their baked goods along, not making as much since it was Tuesday. 

Weather was hot and humid.  Just sticky if you moved around, but a nice breeze if you sat still. 

Business was slow, typical for a Tuesday, but it is rather frustrating to watch the other side of the market be busy (we have two rows facing each other.  Baked goods on one side and produce on the other.  A few produce and baked goods mixed in on both sides, but the majority is as listed.)  We had two new vendors this day.  One selling raw honey.  The other was selling organic produce and had ALOT of produce.  He grows 2 acres of produce that is strictly organic.  He has paid the high certification fees as well.  I think he got alot of my business, but that is OK.  I'd rather he had a good first day. 

I brought home alot of yellow squash... I usually have none left over.  I sold all but one zucchini, half of my cucumbers, all my grape tomatoes.  I sold 4 jars of jam, and several bags of granola.  My total sales for today were $67.50 (better than last Friday), but still slower than previous Tuesdays.  However, I had been gone several Tuesdays in a row because of my daughters mission trip.  That always affects sales later on for some reason.  I did also sell 3 dozen eggs.  My daughters only sold one loaf of lemon poppyseed bread.  Only one daughter came along, but they were pretty disgusted.  The salvation Army were having a bake sale and that may have lowered bake sales... people like to support these community booths and their fundraisers... that ultimately brings us lower sales... the market is trying to determine whether to allow sales of baked goods or items that we normally sell at market at the community booth... so it doesn't affect vendor sales.  It is hard to take a day of baking all morning and the evening before and have ONE LOAF sell because people wanted to support that fundraiser.  We as vendors don't have that community booth schedule (even if we did, we wouldn't always know if they are having a bake sale).  Besides, it really hurts to bake all that stuff and not sell it and then where do you go with it?  It goes in our freezer, I guess, but we sure would have rather had the sales. 

Well, I need to get started on chopping peppers.  I hope to get some pepper jelly made today.  I was going to experiment with a batch doing a hotter pepper, but I didn't find any nice fresh ones... all were wilty.  I hate using wilty produce in jelly, so I opted to wait.  I promised a gal that we will have jelly on Friday... I've been quite low, so I better get going on making jelly today and tomorrow! 

Warmly, ~Melissa