Too many cucumbers

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November 10, 2020

Too Many Cucumbers

This past summer, Hamlet resident Sommer Martin found that she had more cucumbers in her garden than she knew what to do with. After giving away as many as she could to family and friends, she still had more left. Hating to waste food, she investigated selling her extra produce at the Rockingham Farmers’ Market. She first talked with Josh Blake, the Farmers’ Market manager and a farmer himself. Josh directed her to call the Extension office to have an agent check out her garden. The Extension visit was to verify that she was indeed growing the produce she was planning to sell, and not just buying produce elsewhere and re-selling it. The extension agent did not judge the garden in any way. The visit also serves to start an ongoing relationship between the grower and the agent.

After the Extension visit, Sommer joined the Rockingham Farmers’ Market Association, paid the annual fee of $25, and read up on the regulations for selling at the markets. She started selling her excess produce, along with some handcrafts that she makes, at the Tuesday afternoon farmers’ market in front of the County Health Services building on Caroline Street, and on Saturday mornings in downtown Rockingham. Her husband, Chris, watches their two young children while she works at the market. She is not obliged to attend every time, so she can take a weekend off to go to the beach, or decide week to week whether she has sufficient supply to be worth going to the market. Besides cucumbers, she sold tomatoes, watermelons and some of the best blueberries I have ever tasted. She enjoys getting to know the other vendors as well as meeting the customers.

Sommer likes trying out new crops and methods in her garden. Recently she set up a composting system, and she is testing out a raised bed. She is hoping to be able to grow some of the crops organically, giving her a unique niche at the market. Besides the annual crops, she has a few blueberry bushes and muscadine grape vines, and she harvests pecans from a tree at her mother’s house.

The Rockingham Farmers Market could use more growers like Sommer to round out its offerings and to provide a greater supply of popular items like tomatoes. Mostly the vendors can continue to grow their crops as they always have, but a few rules need to be observed to ensure that the food meets regulations for selling to the public. For example, any pesticides the grower uses on crops destined for market must be labeled for commercial use, not just for home gardening. The grower needs to follow the label directions exactly. If manure is applied, 120 days must pass before harvesting crops in contact with the soil, and 90 days for crops not in contact with the soil. For the most part, though, growing for the market is similar to growing just for fun.

Gardeners may also coordinate to sell each other’s produce, as long as at least 52% of the sales are from the Association member. This week, for example, Sommer will start selling lettuce and flowers from Peachview Farms, near her in Hamlet, on commission. Josh Blake buys apples from Ken Chappell and sells them at the Rockingham market. The sellers and product do not have to be from Richmond County, as long are from counties adjacent to Richmond County.

Not only produce, but also flowers and potted plants can be sold at the farmers’ market. This year, for example, Brooke DeWitt Monroe experimented with growing potted mums at her dad’s farm to sell at the farmers market and at some local produce stands. I bought one in early October and I am still enjoying its flowers.

Now is a good time to start planning if you would like to make your garden pay for itself or to earn a little extra spending money. However, if you just find yourself with too many cucumbers next summer, that would not be too late to sign up to sell at the Rockingham Farmers’ Market. For more information on growing crops for market, contact NC Cooperative Extension, Richmond County Center at 910-997-8255, or visit our website, richmond.ces.ncsu.edu.