Hi I’m Erin and this is Our Wyoming Life
This is my farmers’ market truck.
We bought it 2014.
It made the haul to market tremendously easier.
Certain items like tents and tables never have to be unloaded here at the ranch.
We also now have enough space to bring all the veggies, baked goods and jam to market
every week.
Freezers have a permanent spot in the truck during market season allowing us to bring
more beef and pork.
In the beginning of our beef selling days we drug coolers with ice back and forth.
In reality the truck isn’t very pretty on the inside and it’s top speed is only about
55 downhill, with a tail wind but I can’t imagine being without it.
Every Saturday Mike heads out early and loads up the items that can’t be loaded beforehand.
Once we get to market it’s a rush to get things set up before 8:00.
This time of year everything is easier.
Lettuce isn’t heavy and the weather isn’t freezing.
Come October it will be dark when we do this and often there will be frost on the windshield.
As we move into the season the veggies also get heavier and bins will sometimes weigh
upwards of 70 pounds.
It’s not unheard of for us to being over 1000 pounds of product to market.
Luckily this time of year the whole process is easier and the weather has been great so
far.
Mike has a system when loading the truck.
Beef and Pork get loaded earlier in the week and the freezer stays plugged in while the
truck is parked.
On Saturday morning baked goods and jam come over from the house via the gator and are
loaded onto the shelves that have been built for them.
Lastly the veggies are emptied from the commercial refrigerator and placed in the truck.
We use bins and tubs and the floor is where the veggies ride.
Once at market there is also a certain order that the booth comes together in.
Tent absolutely has to go up first.
This year we have a 10x20 tent and honestly we hate putting it up but it looks nice and
hopefully it starts going up easier once it’s been used a few times.
Tables and table cloths are next.
Then we divide and conquer.
Jam and baked goods are Mike’s area and the vegetable display is my side of the booth.
We meet in the middle and fight over the remaining space.
Not really but it does get tight later on in the year.
Signs and price tags also get added.
Some weeks the booth comes together nicely and we might even be done before 8:00.
Other weeks it’s a rush to get everything on the tables.
We want the booth to be well organized and pretty.
It needs to be inviting to the customer and easy for them to shop in.
Because I’m also one of our market managers I often get pulled away during set up to attend
to market matters.
Vendors need to know where they are located for the week and other situations sometimes
arise that I’m needed for.
Once we’re done at 1:00 the whole thing happens in reverse.
This week we have a couple new vegetables coming to market.
Broccoli and rainbow chard are making their first appearance as well as few yellow squash.
Broccoli is very easy to harvest.
A sharp, clean knife is used to remove the head.
The plants will stay and produce florets that we will continue to harvest for weeks to come.
There are just a few yellow squash that are big enough to go to market.
After hunting through the vines a cut is made removing it from the plant and leaving at
least an inch or so of stem.
Rainbow chard is big enough for some of it to be harvested this week.
It cuts get just like lettuce and will keep coming back all summer.
We try to harvest a variety of the colors so that when bundled you get the whole rainbow.
Back in the shop all of the leaves have been removed from the broccoli heads and they get
sprayed off.
The heads are placed in a bushel basket and customers can choose which one they prefer.
Rainbow chard is soaked in cold water.
Sorted through to remove the leaves that are too damaged to sell and then receive a final
rinse before placed on the table for packaging.
A handful of stems are gathered for packaging and then banded with a rubber band.
It’s nice to have a few more crops at market.
Before too long we will have zucchini and summer squash coming out of our ears.
They say a zucchini will double every 3 days.
So once they set it’s not long before they are huge.
Tomatoes are also starting to turn.
Next week we will have enough for market.
I have picked a couple for quality control purposes of course.
So far no tomatoes have been seen at market so it’s still a possibility that we could
be the first.
We’ll see what the week brings for the gardens.
There’s going to be a lot more crops coming into production in the next week or so and
we will really hit the peak of our season.
Remember back in February and I planted tomatoes and I was dreaming of a tomato sandwich, well
that’s my lunch today.
It’s always nice to see the fruit of our hard work pay off.
Thanks for watching and make sure to like us on Instagram or facebook and thanks for
joining me in Our Wyoming life.