by Annie M Manzi

Created on: July 10, 2008   Last Updated: January 19, 2010

You have a green thumb and nice fertile soil. The bumper crop of vegetables and fruit fill up your freezer, pantry and refrigerator.  Friends and family soon benefit from your surplus.  But there is still plenty to go around. What do you do with all the extra food? Sell it!  At first  you lug the patio table with the big umbrella out to the roadside and set it up as a temporary vegetable stand.  This set-up may be fine for some, it is efficient and low cost. But you may get the retail bug and want to expand your new business endeavor, especially if you have the land to expand your growing capacity.

There are many things to consider when setting up a roadside business. The one thing that should come to mind is the legal end of the deal. Do zoning laws allow you to set one up? Do you need a permit to sell anything roadside? Is your stand going to be in a busy and dangerous area for people to pull over safely? Do you have safe places for people to park ? And do you have enough parking? Building a new structure to sell your produce in will probably need permits and inspections. Do not skip these legal issues if you don't want to be fined.

Once the legality of your roadside stand is taken care of it is key to conduct a thorough research of the kinds of vegetables potential consumers would like to buy. Do they want organic produce? Do they want heirloom fruits and vegetables? Will people buy non standard vegetables like kale, Swiss chard, Chinese parsnips, or funny shaped and color tomatoes? Go to farmer markets to see what the people are buying and what sells out out of the fastest. Talk to the farmers selling their produce to see what kind of produce is making the most profit.  Ask what kind of produce draws people in. You already know what sold at your little roadside stand, use that as a benchmark. Consider what grows the best in your garden. Growing and selling a diverse amount of varieties will attract buyers. But do not get too big at first, as it can overwhelm you.

Keep the produce you are selling in a shaded environment that is clean and neat. Have you ever passed by road stands that are rickety and grubby looking? Did you actually stop and buy some produce at that stand? I doubt it, I sure wouldn't. Who wants to shop in a place like that looks old and dirty? If a road stand is unappealing then the produce becomes suspect. The condition of the stand often reflects on the grower and the produce that is being sold.

Produce being

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