Why Seasonal Produce is Ideal

Once upon a time, before grocery stores and delivery services, most humans only consumed seasonal produce that was available at the time. We’ve become accustomed to out-of-season produce imported from outside the country and have come to demand it. 

Eating seasonal and locally produced food is better for the environment; it’s more nutrient-dense and flavorful, reduces fuel used to import, offers a broader range of options, and is typically less expensive for consumers. Adopting seasonal eating also allows local growers to support their families on income from selling their goods. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how you can get a farm stand up and running to help you provide fresh produce for your community, make supplemental income, and decrease waste on the homestead without breaking the bank getting it set up. 

How to Set Up a Roadside Farm Stand

Are you living on your dream homestead but always have extra produce to share? Do friends and family suggest you start a roadside farm stand, but you’re unsure where to start? Cut out that middleman and start selling your produce directly.

There are things to consider before throwing a building up at the bottom of your driveway or along the roadside. Towns and counties have varying levels of permits needed and regulations you’ll be required to adhere to—check in with local officials to get everything you need to sell your produce safely. 

If you plan to sell produce by the pound, you will need a certified scale. Generally, these are certified at the state or county level. You can find your state office for certification here at the State Weights and Measures Directors page. To avoid this many new sellers choose to sell by the bag or item instead of by the pound. 

Ensure your farm stand is easily accessible and visible, with ample signage leading to it. Cut down trees and clear the area so the stand is visible from the road. Consider several placement options before starting to build. Here are some essentials you should acquire before getting started: 

• Tables 
• A building or structure. Think creatively-you can use an old vehicle, a mobile cart, a simple tent with tables and shelves, or build a walk-up stand.  
• Cooling ability or refrigeration 
• Signs and any necessary instructions, including times of operation and pricing   
• A way to accept payment (Venmo, PayPal, Square app, etc.) and a cash box
• Decide whether to be present during open hours or run the stand on the honor system.  
• Paper bags or boxes for customers to transport goods home in
• Marked parking area 
• Liability insurance 
• OPEN sign 

Think about how you want to present your farm stand to your community. Make it inviting to passersby, keep the area clean, and create something lovely folks want to tell their friends and family about. Word of mouth is the best way to gain new customers. 

Related: Starting Seeds on Your Urban Farm with Michael Bell

Spring Produce

Vegetables

Spring is an exciting time for growers, especially in regions with long winters, and everyone is ready for fresh vegetables. Here are some fan favorites.

• Asparagus is a forever-trending perennial vegetable that speaks to the season, as it only sprouts once a year. It takes two to three years to establish, and plants will last up to 15 years if properly cared for. Prepare a weed-free area using a silage tarp and provide ample water while the crowns or seeds develop their root systems for the best results. Store it with the ends in water at the stand to keep it fresh, or pile them together in a wooden crate or bushel. 
• We always wish we had more spinach because it sells like hotcakes. Spinach is rich in iron, magnesium, and vitamins C and E. It’s essential to source spinach locally as its nutrient density decreases days after harvest. Point this out to your customers to push sales!
  Plant several successions of spinach to keep up with demand. Most varieties are ready in about 25 days, and you’ll have several harvests before they begin to yellow or go to seed. If you experience heat waves in the spring, cover spinach beds with Bootstrap Farmer's 30% shade cloth to keep them cool and reduce bolting. 
• Radishes are easy to seed, quick to mature, and highly sought after in the spring for their crunch and color. There are many fun varieties; you can squeeze them in alongside early-season cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. You’ll harvest them before their companions shade them out. 

Fruits

I can tell you from experience there are never enough spring berries to go around! Plant berry bushes and trees now, and you’ll thank yourself in a few years for this foresight. 

• If you have a large, sunny area, consider growing strawberries. They’re hard to resist at a farm stand, and they practically sell themselves! First, decide on the type: 
• June-bearing produces one large crop of berries around mid to late June into July. This type of strawberry plant will send runners, or daughters, all season, so ensure the space allows them to spread out.
• Ever-bearing produces a small summer crop, then another flush in the fall.
• Day-neutral produces berries all season. 

Sell berries by the pint, half a pint, or quart in molded pulp baskets, which are easily accessible. You can reuse them many times before they break down and use them for multiple products. Once you have recurring customers you can opt for endlessly reusable packaging like these 5x5 trays and have customers bring them back to you. 

• Few things are as exciting as watching an established rhubarb plant start to produce its thick, uniquely pink stalks and giant leaves in the spring. With a bit of mulch each season and an annual weeding session, they’re low-maintenance and highly productive for up to 15 years with proper care. 

Most varieties will be ready for harvest from March to May before sending out a flowering stalk. Plants may flower early during unexpected heat waves in the spring. Cut the center stalk out before it goes to seed to extend the harvest season. Only harvest ⅔ of the plant so it can remain strong and regrow before winter arrives. Remove the poisonous leaves before selling. 

Tips

• Start seeds in high-quality seed-starting trays for consistency and best germination rates. Bootstrap Farmer’s Backyard Gardener Seed Starting Bundle includes everything you need to help you start seeds indoors. 
• Extend your season by starting seeds sooner, but be prepared to protect your crops with frost blankets on chilly spring nights. Use them in conjunction with low tunnels to really keep them safe. Read about how frost blankets work in How Do Frost Blankets Help to Prevent Crop Loss? 

Related: When to Start Seeds Indoors on Your Homestead

Summer Produce

Vegetables

• There is nothing like the first juicy bite of a ripe tomato. With so many varieties on the market, tomatoes are fun to experiment with. Try new colors, heirlooms, flavor profiles, and sizes. Your customers can decide what they like, and you can see what grows best for you.
  Sell tomatoes in bulk during peak preserving season, in pints, quarts, flats, or by the pound. If the variety is unusual, samples will help you sell it. 
• Cucumbers are a summer staple. Sell pickling varieties by the pint and slicers by the pound or each, and mark prices.
  Pro tip: Create a pickling kit with a recipe for pickles, fresh garlic, dill, cucumbers, and a jalapeño. Price accordingly. 
• Peppers that sell well depend on your region. If your neighborhood has many young families, grow sweet lunchbox-style peppers, perfect for kid snacks. If there’s a demand for hot peppers, grow those! 
• Sweet Italian and bell peppers are the most recognizable and can be priced by unit for easy sales or in bulk when you have an abundance.
• Hot peppers are more profitable when bundled with other items like a salsa kit or in a pint. Consider the time they’re in the ground and the extra steps you take, like staking and fertilizer throughout the growing season. 

Related: Is It Time to Pick Your Jalapeños?

Fruits

• If you can establish blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries now, you’ll have quite the following in a few years. Pick varieties that hold up after harvest and store well so your customers don’t go home with mushy berries. If you have some gone by, make jam and save it to sell later.
  Maintenance required for berry trees includes proper soil amendments, mulching, and pest control. 
• Melons like cantaloupes, watermelons, and honeydews are always fun to add to the stand and typically sell well on hot summer days. Give them lots of space to grow. 
• Pro tip: Cut up a damaged one for samples. It's a bonus if you can add “samples” to your road sign to draw attention. 

Tips

• Practice succession planting to ensure a constant supply of all your customer’s favorites. Before the season starts, create a sowing schedule based on each crop’s days to maturity and season requirements. For example, radishes don’t germinate or mature as well in the summer heat as in the cool spring and fall temperatures. 
• Consider erecting caterpillar tunnels for pest and frost protection. They’re easy to install and maintain with practice.  

Fall Produce

Vegetables

• If you have the space, offering pumpkins in the fall is unique and can become a family tradition for customers. Small-space growers should select pie pumpkins to save on space.
  Pro tip: Coincide the first sales of pumpkins with a farm tour and invite families to decorate them around Halloween for a community event. 
• Winter squash is an excellent crop to add to your farmstand offerings. Select cultivars with extensive storage capabilities so you can sell them for several months. Acorn, butternut, and delicata are recognizable, popular varieties to consider.  
• Winter-hardy kale will extend your season. Kale becomes sweeter with a few frosts. Bunch it up and add it to a large basket. It will be too beautiful for customers to pass up. You can dehydrate, blend, and jar it up for a soup powder to sell later in the season. 

Fruits

• The best time to plant an apple tree was ten years ago, and that’s because standard-sized trees may take up to eight years to bear fruit—plant at least two different varieties for proper pollination. I recommend growing a universally delicious variety, but perhaps something not found in every grocery store.
• Grapes are surprisingly easy and fun to grow. If you have a wooden fence, you can plant them at the base and train them to grow up and around it. Michael Phillips shares his organic style of orchard management in The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way.

Tips

• Extend the season using high tunnels several ways.
• Strategically planting crops inside whose life cycle allows you to flip bed into fall crops like kale, spinach, cilantro, and hardy lettuce. Continue harvesting these after the frost arrives. 
• Allow summer crops like peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes to grow into the fall inside high tunnels. Run heaters as temperatures drop when needed, roll down the sides with a ventilation crank, and close end doors at night. 
• Get out the frost blankets, monitor overnight temperatures, and run a heater in high tunnels to keep your crops going strong. 

Related: How to Prevent Freezing Pipes: A Guide to Winterizing Your Garden’s Drip Irrigation System

Winter Produce

Vegetables

• Carrots store very well and don’t require much maintenance as they grow. Avoid washing the carrots you plan to store. Cut the tops off, as they can draw moisture from the roots, decreasing their storage capabilities. Store them in airtight containers until you’re ready to sell. Then, bag them by the pound and display them in vented bags. 
• Give Brussels sprouts plenty of space in a sunny area and fertile, well-draining soil. Harvest them in October or harvest them as needed for sale. Frost may elevate the flavor. This unique and fun vegetable will be ready for fall family gatherings. 
• To get long white shafts on your leeks, provide lots of water and growing time and hill them several times. After 120 to 150 days, use a digging fork to gently coax them out of the soil and bunch like-sized leeks in groups of three to five.
  Pro tip: Bundle them with potatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs, and provide a recipe for potato leek soup! 

Fruits

• If your region allows citrus growth, lemons, limes, blood oranges, and kumquats will be a hit at the farm stand. Make a homemade lemon or limeade for sampling, and include a recipe card for a mocktail. Most shoppers will grab a lime or two if they’re available.
• Pomegranates will thrive in zones 7 to 12 with mild winters. Staking is required, and critters may be an issue when the trees are young. However, this is a unique offering that should sell well. Since cracking this fruit open can be challenging, consider posting a how-to video on your social media page for customers to reference. 

Tips

• Move cold frames or low tunnels over the top of crops that may become damaged if they encounter a hard frost. Protect garden beds from snow and damaging winds with row cover. Use sandbags to hold it down. 
• Curing crops like potatoes, onions, garlic, and winter squash is crucial for a long storage life. Allow them to sun cure for a few days after harvest, removing them from the field if rain is forecasted. Then, lay them out in a single layer over some newspaper or a homemade drying rack. Alternatively, tie garlic or onion stalks together and hang them from barn rafters. Limit humidity and run a high-powered fan to speed up the process.
  Once fully cured, store them in breathable boxes or paper bags in a cool, dark, and dry place. Refer to seed packets for each variety’s expected shelf life and share this information with customers. 

Marketing Your Farm Stand

Effective Pricing Strategies

If you have “early” crops, like the first tomatoes, charge more! People will pay extra to jumpstart summer produce. Adjust prices once every other farm stand and farmers’ market offers tomatoes.

A classic BOGO or bundle deal is a great way to move a lot of products. Determine what you want to make on each product and price them accordingly. For example, if you need to make between $2.50 and $3 on a bundle of herbs, sell them for $3 or 3/$8. The customer gets a good deal, and you move the product. 

Engaging with Customers

If you’re growing something new or different, provide a recipe card for customers to entice them to try it. Recipes are a great way to engage customers and earn their trust as the grower. They also open up future conversations about food and cooking.

Consider hosting a farm stand tour. Invite the community to visit your stand and offer samples. If you’re nervous, ask extroverted friends and family members for help to create good vibes. 

Leveraging Technology

The world of technology provides access to shopping at all hours of the day. Ensure a decent level of “openness” that allows customers to shop conveniently. For example, if you create an online store, leave it open long enough for folks to place orders. 

Create a cohesive and easy-to-manage website and ordering platform. Do you want to offer delivery options or limit pickups to pick-ups only? Test everything with technology several times before launching it to avoid glitches or frustrated customers. 

Stick to social media platforms you’re familiar with and comfortable using. If you already utilize Facebook and Instagram, stick with those. Use your existing friends to help spread the word and create a customer base. Use social media creatively by posting polls or asking for feedback in exchange for a deal. And use their promo codes! For example, “mention our latest reel in your order check-out for 10% off your next order”. Also, request that your roadside farm stand be added to a local business directory so people can find you and establish a publicly listed email address.

Additional Resources

• Succession Planting For Success in the Market Garden
• Season Extension on a Flower Farm
• Tips For Successful Seedling and Plant Propagation

Must-haves to start a farm stand:

• Seed Starting Heat Mat
• High-quality seed trays and humidity domes 
• Irrigation

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening on Your Homestead

FAQs

How to start a farm stand?

Start by determining the demand in your area and researching local permits needed and food sales regulations. Then, build your structure or identify an existing structure to use. Refer to our article How to Sell at a Farmers’ Market: Setting up A Successful Booth for helpful pointers and items you’ll need to get started. 

What are the best vegetables to grow for a farm stand?

Fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, herbs, scallions, and potatoes will sell well. Create a niche, and don’t try to grow everything at first. Listen to your customers and pay attention to demand. You may love growing something that doesn’t sell. That’s okay; just grow that for yourself. 

How can I extend my growing season?

To extend your season, add caterpillar tunnels, use frost blankets, and grow cold-hardy crops. Grow storage crops customers can consume in late fall and winter. Make value-added products like tea bags and maple syrup to keep sales going into the fall and winter months.

What equipment do I need for a farm stand?

Depending on your time and commitment to the project, the equipment can be as simple as a pop-up tent and sturdy tables or as advanced as a DIY cabin with electricity. At the very least, you need a way to keep your produce cool and protected from the sun and a way to take payment. Make your farm stand an inviting place for customers to visit with clearly marked signs and prices, parking, and payment options. 

How do I price my produce?

Look online at local organic grocers and note prices at nearby farmers’ markets and your grocery store. Find the most comparable products and calculate the average. Remember that your products are local and highly nutritious. Don’t undersell their value! 

What are the most popular seasonal fruits to sell?

Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries will always be in style. Establish bushes now to enjoy fruitful harvests in the future. 

How can I promote my farm stand on social media?

If you think you’re posting enough, you probably aren’t, so don’t be shy. Social media constantly evolves, and you want to stay relevant to your followers. Introduce yourself, promote new, exciting items, be transparent, and always tag your location. 

What are some tips for engaging with customers at a farm stand?

Be yourself. Smile. Be prepared to answer questions about how and what you grow. Thank them for coming! 

Written by Jenna Rich of Partners’ Gardens LLC