Crash, please note that the tent has been moved.
The place was already pretty busy, and folks were buying plants. Before I got in the door I found myself answering questions about tomato varieties, giving tips on planting and advising on soil amendments. I could have stuck around for a while, and I'm sure it would have been appreciated, yet I had a full day ahead of me.
DW had given me a grocery list, so after I brought the corn inside, I did the shopping. There was a woman in front of me at the checkout who had one of our eggplant starts, plus s 6-pack of our corn and another of our beets. I couldn't help myself. I told her how much she was going to enjoy the eggplant, Kamo, a Japanese variety. I also told her that with just six corn plants, she would have to pollinate it herself, and told her how to do it.
I was in my element, sort of. Again, if I didn't have so much work to do at home, I could have stuck around and given mini-clinics, and hawked our wares. It does not escape me that the more of our plants they sell today, the more they will order tomorrow.
The year before we moved here I worked in a garden center. I loved talking to people about plants, yet the real fun was getting them so excited about gardening that they had to buy seven plants instead of three. It must be the 25-plus years writing advertising copy, for I found that I can be very presuasive.
Hey, I'd love to chat but I have work to do.
7 comments:
Busy or not, that sure sounds like my definition of a nice day.
Gotta tell you, when I first found your blog, I read it for the poker content. Now I'm sort of disappointed if you don't have at least half a post of farming stuff.
Keep it up!
/j.
joxum, that is exactly what happened to me. I like the bucolic mood of it. But those plants look a little too green to be organic. I think I can see some DDT residue on them!
bptc, if you do want to stay there, you are correct. When you have the time, personally plant the seeds of interest/education with the final customers, and your business will grow. But I guess just doing the starts concentrates your work into too short a time in the year. Too bad. You seem to enjoy the personal contact with the customers.
Where I live, a large pickle company is based. 100+ years old. They found they could not compete just making pickles, because it was so seasonal. So they developed other products: relish, sauce, condiments, preserves, vinegars, etc, that they could produce all year long. They are thriving.
" I loved talking to people about plants, yet the real fun was getting them so excited about gardening that they had to buy seven plants instead of three. It must be the 25-plus years writing advertising copy, for I found that I can be very presuasive."
You are salesman bastin. That's an honorable trade. In my experience good salesmen are honest and tell a man with no hands that he doesn't need new gloves. Or maybe he does...:)
What part of the world IS your farm? You sound like you really enjoy what you do. I wish I derived the same level of enjoyment from my work.
Mike - Thanks for stopping by. I live in Oregon. I am more in love with the beauty that surrounds me than I am the work. Yet, I do suppose it is better than dealing with what you have to in law enforcement. Be safe.
Post a Comment