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Wi-sunflower · January 25, 2009

Yes cherries and grapes are great sellers especially if the family has a kid or few. Often the kids will do the picking on the cherry plant and want something like they grew before. It doesn't HAVE to be the same variety tho if you can tell them how the variety YOU have looks similar but TASTES better.

Nearly 10 years ago, I was probably the first in my area to grow Amish Paste and would sell tons. It's still a good selling Roma, but since others also sell it now, I don't sell the totals of it I used to.

One tip about eggplant -- many people have tried it in the past with poor results if they get anything at all. The big reason for that is because most places sell eggplant plants in the same small rootball 3/6 pack size. If eggplants get "rootbound" they take forever to grow out of it and never do well the rest of the season. You need to put eggplant in bigger pots too. I put peppers and eggplant in 36s. The plants will be bigger than the store bought and will take off as soon as planted.

About the hot peppers, because they are much slower growing than tomatoes, I put them in a smaller pot than my tomatoes and charge less than the tomatoes, but more than the stores. I also start them about a month before I do my tomatoes.

I'm hoping to be able to do a tomato taste fair at my farm this summer if the weather co-operates. Last year because of the early rains, our tomatoes were in 3 different fields. I have a big field this year IF the weather works out. Often the plans you make at this time of the year get thrown out the window when planting time comes around. But if things work out, I will use flyers at my 3 markets to promote my tasting. I should have over 200 varieties for people to see and taste. This should help both plant and tomato sales as my best market doesn't allow sampling if something has to be cut.

If you live in an area where you can grow a few plants extra early in you greenhouse, having some of the actual tomatoes there during plant season should really sell the plants. For me it's a bit of a stretch to be able to do that. Too much cold and not enough decent greenhouse space.

January 25, 2009	#6
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	Yes cherries and grapes are great sellers especially if the family has a kid or few. Often the kids will do the picking on the cherry plant and want something like they grew before. It doesn't HAVE to be the same variety tho if you can tell them how the variety YOU have looks similar but TASTES better. Nearly 10 years ago, I was probably the first in my area to grow Amish Paste and would sell tons. It's still a good selling Roma, but since others also sell it now, I don't sell the totals of it I used to. One tip about eggplant -- many people have tried it in the past with poor results if they get anything at all. The big reason for that is because most places sell eggplant plants in the same small rootball 3/6 pack size. If eggplants get "rootbound" they take forever to grow out of it and never do well the rest of the season. You need to put eggplant in bigger pots too. I put peppers and eggplant in 36s. The plants will be bigger than the store bought and will take off as soon as planted. About the hot peppers, because they are much slower growing than tomatoes, I put them in a smaller pot than my tomatoes and charge less than the tomatoes, but more than the stores. I also start them about a month before I do my tomatoes. I'm hoping to be able to do a tomato taste fair at my farm this summer if the weather co-operates. Last year because of the early rains, our tomatoes were in 3 different fields. I have a big field this year IF the weather works out. Often the plans you make at this time of the year get thrown out the window when planting time comes around. But if things work out, I will use flyers at my 3 markets to promote my tasting. I should have over 200 varieties for people to see and taste. This should help both plant and tomato sales as my best market doesn't allow sampling if something has to be cut. If you live in an area where you can grow a few plants extra early in you greenhouse, having some of the actual tomatoes there during plant season should really sell the plants. For me it's a bit of a stretch to be able to do that. Too much cold and not enough decent greenhouse space.