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Archive for the ‘farmers market’ Category

Usually the main motivation for planting a fruit tree is just the joy of maintaining a tree and eating the delicious fruit that comes from it. However, in my personal experience it is possible to go on a quite lucrative venture with fruit trees by operating a fruit stand or participating in a farmer’s market.

When I moved to Florida, I was slightly depressed at the fact that I had just left behind years and years of hard work to get my lawn to the point it was. However, I was able to healthily channel this depression into the desire to get a new and more beautiful garden and lawn setup going. The house I moved into was nice, but the previous owner obviously had no gardening prowess. The lawn was barren of any features besides grass. Lots and lots of grass.

I decided that since I was now in a new climate that I had never experienced before, I would grow some trees that I didn’t have the opportunity to grow before. I decided to do the truly Floridian thing to do, and get a few orange trees. It was a lot easier than I had imagined. I’ve had some rather disastrous experiences with planting trees in the past, and planting the orange trees was no problem at all. I decided to go with Valencia oranges, just because they are the most popular orange to grow and almost everyone is able to grow them successfully.

After I picked out what type of orange I wanted, I decided to get three trees. It took me about 3 days to dig all the necessary holes and install the trees. It was a flawless operation, and I truly felt like an expert. The trees grew healthy and straight, and produced fruit at the time of year they were expected to.

For the three or four years, my orange trees didn’t produce very much fruit. Sure I never ran out of oranges for my own personal usage, and I drank almost nothing but orange juice, but I didn’t have the ludicrous amount that you might expect from 3 trees. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with my trees. I was happy to be getting any fruit at all. But I had heard of people getting thousands and thousands of oranges from several trees, and I was slightly baffled as to why I wasn’t so fortunate.

About a year after that, my orange trees really took off. I walked outside one day to see about 5 times as many oranges as I had grown in any previous seasons. I thought I was seeing things, but they all stuck around. I harvested so many oranges that year, I hardly even knew what to do with all of them. That was when my neighbor suggested to me that I sell at a farmer’s market. I found out the time that they go on, and rented a spot for my truck (some farmers markets allow you to come and sell for free, but mind charged rent just to park your truck).

Within the first day at the farmer’s market, I had made back all the money I spent on the original trees. My oranges were truly a hit, and I was getting more customers than any of the other participants. After that week, I didn’t miss a day at the farmer’s market. It wasn’t enough money to live off of, but it was a good amount for just selling some oranges. Besides, what else would I have done with them? I certainly couldn’t have eaten them all by myself. So if you have an excess of fruit, you should never throw it away or try to eat it all by yourself. Take it to the farmer’s market and try to get some extra cash for your gardening labor. If your products are delicious, you might just be a hit with the consumers.

Hampton Roads Virginia farmers markets are excellent sources of fresh fruits, vegetables, produce, herbs, flowers, garden plants, seafood, meats, cheeses, poultry and more. The following list includes some of the more popular Hampton Roads Virginia farmers markets.

Old Beach Farmers Market is a quaint open air market that gathers in the parking lot of Croc’s 19th Street Bistro along the 19th Street Corridor in the heart of Virginia Beach near the Old Beach. The market is popular among locals as well as visitors to Virginia Beach that are shopping for fresh Virginia produce.

The Virginia Beach Farmers Market features a variety of merchants offering seasonal, fresh vegetables and fruit in addition to many other products. This includes an organic grocer, butcher shop, dairy store, flower gift shop, candy and bakery shop, restaurant, nature gifts and specialty gift stores, and a home and garden gift store, offering a unique and varied shopping experience.

5 Points Community Farm Market features local and regional conventional small farm and organic produce, seafood, meats, dairy products, BBQ, smoked chicken, ribs & fish, Virginia roasted coffees, peanuts, dry goods, artisan breads, organic foods and a market cafe serving breakfast, lunch & dinner. 5 Points Community Farm Market is located at 2500 Church Street in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Olde Towne Portsmouth Farmer’s Market is located in the first block of Middle Street, between High and Queen Streets, adjacent to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Museum. The market operates on first Saturdays through November The Farmer’s Market coincides with the First Saturday Olde Towne Business Association Flea Market that is held each month. Farmer’s Market items for sale often include fresh produce, flowers, plants, canned goods, baked goods, jams, breads, honey and more.

The Newport News Farmers Market offers farmers, gardeners, seafood retailers and other select vendors the opportunity to market home-grown and crafted products. The open air market includes 10,000 feet of covered vending space. Shoppers will find the freshest produce from local farmers and gardeners as well as fresh fish, fresh-frozen seafood, cheeses and meats. Other items include bedding plants, cut flowers, baked goods and hand made crafts. The market is open year-round.

The Suffolk Farmers Market is one of the most popular farmers markets in Virginia. Vendors offer fruits, vegetables and plants including beans, corn, grapes, greens, melons, peanuts, squash, strawberries, sunflowers, tomatoes and more.

Internet Authors are like farmers, in that they plough their own furrow. They work alone, often separated from friends and family, wondering – like all writers – if the stories they are producing work will ever see the light of day. Still, they are driven on by a conviction that what they have to say is worth reading and a belief, grounded in reality, that they will be able, eventually, to communicate their writing to the wider world, through the medium of the internet. In that, they are one step up on their fellow writers who choose to remain reliant on the world of Traditional Publishing, in that Internet Authors can be assured that the books they write will be uploaded, printed and seen, and will not moulder on the desks of publishing assistants and unhelpful Editors.

Of course, farmers in Britain are having a tough time of it recently. They find themselves in thrall to the giant supermarkets and find that the size, weight and price of their products are usually dictated to them by the retail buyers. In that respect, they are no better off than the traditional authors mentioned above, who are slaves to Traditional Publishers who aren’t willing to move with the times, and assume that what was good enough for creative writers in the 1930s is still good today. Internet Authors have moved on. Similarly, progressively minded farmers have realised the trap they are being put in and have looked for other outlets for their products. In their case, it’s local shops or Farmers’ Markets. The advantage of both venues is that the farmers have a much more direct relationship with their customers. They are closer to them, and can hear from the people across the counter exactly what they are looking for. That’s the case for Internet Authors too, who use modern tools like Blogs and Forums to communicate with their customers, the readers. They get feedback and comments almost immediately, and that modifies their plans and proposals in the future. Rather than rely on a whole range of middle-men, like Literary Agents, Editors, Publishers, Promotional Assistants and Illustrators, they can devote their energies to doing what they do best, creating stories and changing the map of the world that we all carry in our heads.

Farmers who feel their way of life is being threatened have another source of support, however: the government. In Europe, and increasingly in America, the authorities step in when they see that people who till the land are not making a living. This doesn’t apply to authors, (although the Arts Council in England is being called upon to provide financial backing for literary artists as well as graphic artists these days). This kind of statutory help is rarely seen in the career of writers. Historically, respected writers have been supported by aristocratic figures, with pensions and handouts, but those working towards publication with Traditional Publishers have to make their own way and fund their own efforts. The alternative, up to now, has been the risky – and expensive – route of Self Publishing. In a way, the internet has taken that model and given it a good shake-out. Internet Authors are people who upload their books to print-on-demand publishers on-line, and then wait for surfers and web visitors to buy the book. Amazingly, the process costs nothing, which makes it clearly accessible to the majority. In that, Internet Authors are one step up on farmers. They don’t need subsidies. They are free from the threat of financial ruin. They can focus on what they do best, writing, then see their books made available at no cost to themselves. It’s a win-win situation, and a world away from the ‘majority loses’ vision of Traditional Publishing.

Every day, authors sits down at their desks and try to create new work, but only the Internet Author is in a position to know that the green shoots they are nurturing, watering and hoeing will eventually grow to maturity and bear fruit. For the traditional writer, in hock to the Traditional Publisher, life is still a gamble and their submissions are still a Lottery. Only the Internet Author can bring in the harvest, as farmers have been doing for themselves since the end of the last Ice Age. Finally, the Ice Age of Traditional Publishing has come to a whimpering and undignified end too.