Market Farming

[Betsy <blevy AT rsocsun.tamu.edu>]

Allan Balliett wrote:

> What kind of money do they bring on the west coast? (BTW these also
> freeze well in their pods. BTW, If you get edemame from a sushi bar
> ($1-3 for less than a cup of them), they are usually sourced from the
> freezer.

They're sourced from my freezer too :-). I've never bought them fresh, I buy 
them frozen
in bags from Japan (!) in Seattle, L.A., and now here in Austin, for between 
2.50 and $3
for a one pound bag - frozen still in the bag. I've grown them for myself 
too. That's the
thing - it seems like, except maybe in Asian groceries, edemame is not being 
sold fresh
yet in many places, and would be a hit with kids.

> Last year someone was offering a 'special variety' on SANET. This
> variety was harvested by cutting the stem and leaving the beans on
> the stem and selling the 'whole plant' in this fashion. (beans on a
> tree, or something like that.)

Hmmm, there's nothing special about this - apparently this is how they're 
offered in
Japan all the time. Think how kids would love it - a steamed "tree" that they 
pull the
pods off of. And the saved labor for harvesters.

And then there's all the buzz about soy isoflavones being good for people, 
particularly
women, but Americans not being overly excited about most soy foods - sounds 
like a sure
hit to me, once you get people to sample them.

> Incidentally, edame makes the best attractant for GROUND HOGS that
> we've ever had !! :-)  :-(

Once you attracted them, how did you get rid of them? :-)