The Homegrown Vendor Blog

A practical guide to selling at the farmers market in the rain — when to go versus stay home, how to set up your booth and protect your products, and why rainy days are often your best per-customer sales days.

A practical guide to handling slow days at the farmers market — why they happen, what to do during the downtime, when slow days signal a bigger problem, and how to build revenue outside market day so slow traffic does not wreck your income.

A checklist of 14 common farmers market vendor mistakes that cost you sales without you realizing it — from invisible pricing and cluttered displays to skipping card payments and not collecting customer contacts — with a practical fix for each one.

A step-by-step guide for farmers market vendors to calculate the true cost of a market day, figure out their break-even point and effective hourly rate, compare markets against each other, and decide when a market is worth it and when it is time to move on.

A practical guide for farmers market vendors expanding beyond one market — how to evaluate new markets, split inventory without shorting your best market, schedule multi-market prep weeks, avoid the burnout wall at three markets, and grow revenue through online ordering instead of adding more market days.

A practical guide for home growers who want to sell microgreens locally — why microgreens don't need cottage food permits (they're fresh produce), startup costs of $200-$500, pricing for 60-75% margins, best-selling varieties, packaging, and how to land farmers market and restaurant accounts.

A practical guide for home cooks who want to sell prepared meals locally — why meal prep doesn't qualify under cottage food laws, how to get licensed (commercial kitchen, shared kitchen, or permitted home kitchen), pricing for 65-75% margins, packaging and food safety, pre-order systems, and building a repeat customer base.

A practical guide for home bakers who want to sell their pies — which pies qualify under cottage food laws (and which don't), best-selling varieties like apple and pecan, pricing for premium margins, packaging and transport, pre-order strategies, and building toward Thanksgiving as your biggest revenue day.

How to sell spice blends from home: the cottage food rules in 8 states, how to make your own seasoning to sell, real costs per jar, labels, pricing, and where to sell.