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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] FM's in rural areas

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  • From: Pat Meadows <pat AT meadows.pair.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] FM's in rural areas
  • Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 11:02:06 -0500

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 09:42:50 EST, you wrote:


>
> So, if it's likely that many rural areas have homes with enough yard space
>to have a garden of some sort, then you must consider the possibility that
>the
>people who shop at your stand will be looking for the cheapest garden
>produce
>that they can find. Why? Because they are familiar with the pricing of
>seeds, they are familiar with potential yield, and they are familiar with
>giving a
>lot of their own yield away. So, the inherent value of your produce is
>diminished. I'm sure many of us have heard customers say things like "Oh,
>that's too
>much to pay for a tomato, I could grow them myself." It is like trying to
>sell retail to a wholesale crowd. Many times vendors in this situation end
>up
>lowering their prices just to get rid of the items they brought to market.
>Hopefully they stay in the black with the bottom line.

But this isn't necessarily so. I live in a very, very rural
area and almost all homes here have room for a garden. But
it seems that very, very, very few people garden here: far
fewer (proportionally) than in suburban areas where I've
lived.

There are reasons for this, no doubt, and the short growing
season, terrible clay soil that predominates here, and the
local wildlife (deer) are no doubt parts of the reason. But
you *can* garden successfully here: I do, and a local
friend has a market garden.

It just seems that the *idea of gardening* doesn't exist
much around here. I'd be willing to bet that fewer than 40%
of the local dairy farmers have a vegetable garden, for
example.

I don't really know the reason why so few garden in this
area.

Pat
--
ContainerSeeds.com - vegetable, herb, fruit and edible
flower seeds for successful container growing.
http://www.containerseeds.com




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