Market Farming

["Jill Taylor Bussiere" <jdt AT itol.com>]

Del,
    We had a tomato tasting event at our local Gardeners club a few years
ago.  I don't belong, but was invited because I was keen on it, and had a
mess of varieties of tomato to offer.

    Although I wouldn't call this event scientific, it gave folks a chance
to taste many tomatoes and compare them to others.

    If you have a CSA, or even a market garden, it could be an attractive
event.  If you have a market booth, you could hold it there - with other
vendors, perhaps, and have a chance for folks to vote for their favorite,
after tasting them.  You could tally up determinates vs indeterminates after
the tasting session and see who comes out ahead.
     - Jill


From: Del Williams
The problem with this kind of marketing research is that there isn't a full
cross comparison.  Customers who have never tasted a Celebrity say that
Beefmaster is just the best.  How would they know?

I hear it all.  Rutgers fans, Celebrity fans, Big Boy, Better Boy, Lemon
Boy.  Jet Star!  But when you ask the specific question... how does this
compare with that... most home gardeners or grocery buyers don't know.

When is the last time you went into a grocery store and the variety was
listed?  They are sold as tomatoes on the vine, hydroponic, plum, or
general... oh maybe, homegrown (ya right, in a major grocery store chain).
If it's a GMO tomato you can bet it's variety isn't going to be listed.

So, I await the grower tests that have some scientific validity and
reliability.