Market Farming

[Petersons family <petersns AT whidbey.com>]

On Aug 4, 2004, at 2:58 AM, Allan Balliett wrote:

> I'm very interested in the 'how-to' of baby squash. One of my concerns 
> is loss of yield. Do you wind up getting as many pounds of squash when 
> you pick early...or do you lose wt to pick up on 'novelty'?
Yes, you probably lose some weight by picking early, but the price per 
pound more than makes up for that.  I suspect that picking off the 
squash at a small size prolongs the productive life of the plant.
 I find it difficult to sell more than 5-6 full size zucchini at a 
Saturday market - and people don't want to pay much for a zucchini.  I 
think about the time it took me to start the seed, prepare the soil, 
transplant, weed, and then harvest.  Then I stand there with scratched 
arms and hands trying to sell that squash, and someone wants to argue 
about whether it's worth the price I'm asking. But I can sell many, 
many small cellophane bags of mixed " baby" squash. I grow several 
different shapes and colors.  My bags have 4-7 squash, 2+" diameter for 
patty pans, about 4" long for the straight ones.  I sell them for $2.50 
a bag;  they are usually gone in the first two hours of market and no 
one questions the price.  So there are lots of factors beyond loss of 
yield.
> Also, is there some way you have planted your squash to make finding 
> small squash 'easier'?  Do you prune your plants?
Definitely bothersome to pick.  I tried pruning (took off several 
leaves) a patty pan I'd unwisely planted in a hoophouse next to some 
basil.  In two days I couldn't tell the difference.  I do pick squash 
blossoms as I pick the small squash.  They are also a big draw at 
market.