Checking out the competition

The kids and I went to Washington DC this past weekend to visit good friends from school.

While we were there, we checked out the farmer's market. We were excited to look at other people's setups, especially their labeling systems. We have a system where we painted some wooden shims with blackboard paint, and then write the item and price in chalk and stick the board in or near the basket of veggies. Which works pretty well, but could stand some improvement. For one thing, it would be good to convey more information about the veggies, like the variety names, and for another thing I think it would be good if our signs were more legible.

We didn't get good sign ideas, but it was nice to see a market as an outsider and be reminded of how buying produce is just one small part of a farmer's market. It's really much more about community, in a very pleasant and mellow way. We sat for a while on the grass and ate apples and a croissant, and watched customers chatting with farmers, neighbors greeting neighbors, kids and parents out on a Saturday morning adventure, met a nice man with a basset hound and chatted with him for a bit about how Peter wants to get one.

So while yes, we can and will improve our signage, it was good to remember that the farm is about more than selling veggies.