Friday, January 27, 2012

To Market, To Market...Which Way Do We Go?

With our gardening, chickens, and Christmas trees, Chris and I are approaching the crossroads. Flip a penny, turn left! Flip a penny, turn right! I think I'm going to the nearest class that is presented by a more knowledgeable OTHER.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture and the OSU Extension Offices both offer classes on growing and marketing farm produce. I've signed up for a couple of sessions this spring. One I'm excited about is at a winery where I'll be attending Fruit and Vegetable School. Last year we found out grapes and berries come with their own unique pests and fungi. Cringe!  

So far, we've only grown our fruits and veggies to consume at home and share with friends and family but *sometimes* the yield exceeds all expectations, like with our pumpkins, butternut squash and zucchini!  Too many for us to eat, can, freeze or even find people to hand them to. Luckily, I've learned to appreciate the many ways to prepare butternut squash, a leader in supplying nutrients! YAY!!!




I eat so many squash and pumpkin blossoms, that I didn't expect to have a large harvest. Here, I was preparing to stuff pumpkin blossoms with cheese. Mozzarella is nice, but hot pepper cheese is even better!

Fried with an egg/cornmeal batter--YUM!!!
There are several different ways to direct market your own farm produce here in Ohio:

  1. a Farmers' Market
  2.  a Farm Market
  3. a Pick-Your-Own farm
  4. a Roadside Market 
  5. a Christmas Tree Farm.



Chris and I had attended Christmas Tree College last year. That was fun! There are little white spider mites that like to invade pine trees. We actually had an attack of them! Luckily, I think all but one infected tree survived. It's worth the time and money when you learn what to watch out for and then how to deal with it. Our trees are still very young and not yet ready to leave the farm.

Supplementing your groceries with farm fresh veggies is not only a delicious choice but so, SO, frugal and nutritious!
Recently, I called the Ohio Department of Agriculture. We're weighing the benefits of  becoming a member farm with the local Farmers' Market or setting up our own Farm Market. Which way do we go? A Farmers' Market is a congregation of producers that set up in a convenient place for consumers. A Farm Market is usually set up at the farm location with just the one farm producer. We're almost there at the crossroads with our fruits, veggies, eggs and eventual trees, and I'm about to turn on the turn signal.

Which way to turn???
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7 comments:

  1. Granny SueJanuary 27, 2012 at 10:13 PM

    Wow! Lots of choices. I'm more of a mind to go with your own market, where you set the hours and build a loyal following. I wish we had such options here. And he classes you've taken sound wonderful. Again, if we have those options I don't know about them.

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  2. JessiJanuary 27, 2012 at 10:47 PM

    I support you either way, but I like the idea of an eventual breakfast joint on the farm. That sounds so cozy! And, hey, maybe you could offer some tasty gluten free options... ;)

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  3. dr momiJanuary 28, 2012 at 4:38 PM

    How much time do you have??? Why not both??

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  4. UnknownJanuary 28, 2012 at 7:55 PM

    Well, here's the thing. While I'm weighing the options but not, Jessi, turning the old farmhouse into a B&B (or breakfast for the race track campers, who won't be there since that business is in a take-over), I do have other fish frying. Dr. Momi, I don't think I can do both, but maybe, and Granny Sue, I'm still learning with the classes and reluctant to make any decision until I have the answers I need. The first thing for us, besides classes, is to get our Egg Inspection from the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture and ask lots of questions. Maybe I can do it all! But not by myself.

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  5. DanitaJanuary 28, 2012 at 10:47 PM

    Maybe trying the your own farm market first at the farm especially with our road being very heavy with traffic. I think you would do very good.

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  6. UnknownJanuary 29, 2012 at 11:16 AM

    Danita, I'm willing to give it a try, and Chris is willing to make a room for me to set up. But, gee, I'd have to have cable! I could get excited about that! Really! Hmmm! Take my skills from all those years of doing bulletin board displays and really set up shop! And make my own market baskets! Ladies, thanks for the encouragement! I just may do this!!!

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  7. UnknownFebruary 6, 2012 at 7:05 PM

    We've made a decision. We have a dept of agriculture inspection coming up and are looking forward to starting a small farm market!!!

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