Even if you've only been growing for your family, you may find yourself in midsummer with an overload of eggs, zucchini, lettuce, even elderflower syrup, pickles or jam. Just because you don't have acres in vegetables doesn't mean you can't get rid of the surplus and make a little profit on the side. (Remember to sock away enough for winter, and for holiday gifts of jam and salsa.)
Farmers markets can be the perfect way to rid yourself of excess produce without too much investment of time and energy. For those of us who live in towns that are on the small side, a little table overflowing with surplus can easily be gone in an afternoon, leaving a little cash in the pocket to buy another bag of feed for the hens or a stirrup hoe.
If you're already selling regularly at one market, consider expanding to another location. Find your local market or one in a nearby town on the USDA's search page, or try Local Harvest's search engine. Nina Planck gives great advice on how to make your investment of time pay off by following some simple strategies for marketing your farm products.
Photo © Flickr user NatalieMaynor, used under a Creative Commons license.
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