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Subject: Market Farming
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- From: "Del Williams" <delannw AT dlogue.net>
- To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: Re: Roadside Stands
- Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 13:07:41 -0600
I sell lettuces, arugula, chard,
beets, and fresh herbs at the farmers' market. In July and August it
is a challenge to keep them looking good for the duration of the market.
In October I am sometimes unable to take the basil out of the truck because it
is so cold out. Nothing like handling wet items on a 25 degree
morning.
I harvest almost all of those items in
the morning before the market (we open at 7AM).
However, at the height of the season
when there are too many things to harvest, I often do the beets and chard the
night before. I'm always reluctant to harvest herbs the night
before...especially on those hot Illinois nights where the nighttime
temperatures don't seem a lot different from the daytime
temperatures.
Like you I use coolers...I have five
very large coolers. All of the lettuces and greens in general go into
coolers with about 4" of water and 2 lbs. of ice. They are placed in
the coolers as soon as they are cut. As the sales day goes on, I add more
ice if the water seems like it is getting too warm. The chard is so long
that I often have to lay it down and pour more water into the cooler once it is
loaded. I've never had a day when I couldn't keep it looking nice right
until the very end. On each cooler there is a sign with the cooler's
contents and the price. Usually, I meet the customer and take out what
they need.
With herbs it's a little
trickier. As the sun comes up and moves around the market, I move the
herbs out of the sun or block the sun with colorful Mexican woven blankets that
are draped over the side of the tent. (People often ask if the blankets
are for sale!) I should start that little side since I get so many request
to buy them.
Once the sun hits sage or basil it is
almost a lost cause to get them looking good again.
All of the herbs are placed in clear
plastic containers (actually icebuckets) that have an inner plastic
container. The herbs are cut and placed right into the containers before
they are loaded onto the truck. I do not put ice into the buckets of
herbs. It would certainly not work to improve the basil and I have never
needed to add ice to any of the other herbs either. It really doesn't make
sense because as long as they are kept out of direct sun they last for the
entire market. Smaller stemmed herbs like thyme and oregano are cut in
bunches and just placed in the buckets. At the market, I pull out a
handlful...ask the customer if it looks good to them and put a rubber band
around the bottom of the bunch. Then I put them in a sandwich bag...larger
bag for bigger (taller or woodier herbs).
Oh, I also have a spray bottle full of
water that I occasionally use to mist the beets and herbs. Boy, when you
get those bright red chioggia beets out there and they are wet they just look
great. Once they start drying out they don't look as good and the greens
start wilting. On really hot (say 95 degree) days, the beets stay in the
coolers with the chard.
Del
|
-
Roadside Stands,
Kathy Somers, 03/13/2001
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: Roadside Stands, Del Williams, 03/13/2001
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