Current market prices in your area
 

Just wondering how some of you are making out this year. What are current prices per lb in your area? Do u separate varieties and sell at different prices? for those that need to have a certified scale or cant use a scale how do u market them for sale? Do you sell smaller and cherry and currents by half-pint/pint? Just looking for your experiences and maybe some advice. That's for your time guys.

Current (very early season) prices at my market are about:

$3 per pint of cherry/saladette tomatoes.
$1 per fruit for ~8 oz fruits.

The per fruit price will drop to 1/2 or 1/3 of that in the next few weeks as production ramps up. The price on cherry tomatoes will stay the same due to the labor required to pick them. Saladette tomatoes will end the season at $1 per pint.

One guy sells using a non-certified scale. He is begging for trouble. Everyone else sells by the basket, or by the fruit.

I always market cherry tomatoes in pint baskets. Later in the season when I have lots of varieties and sizes of tomatoes I'll sell mixed lots as 'Fill a bag for $3'. People generally put about 3 to 5 pounds of tomatoes into the bag.

Towards the end of the season, canning tomatoes sell for about $12 to $15 per half bushel around here.

I grow in an agricultural community where most members of the community are required by religious dogma to grow a garden. Hard to get high prices in that kind of an environment.

I sell at 3 dollars a pound, or for smaller salad, saladette and cherry types; 2 dollars a pint. That generally stays fairly consistent as since I am selling out front instead of a farmer's market, there is no chance as of yet to flood the market. Last year when I tried to sell to some faithful customers at a discount, I kept getting resistance. Like tips, and "keep the change"s, and people purposely over paying when I was gone. The funniest was when I just sat down a bag of fresh picked mixed maters on the table, and went inside to use the bathroom. I was going to come back out, sort the culls, separate the cherries etc..... I came back out and all my tomatoes were gone, every one. At first I thought some one stole them, but turns out they left behind cash, about triple what I would typically charge for firsts!:?:

I found out later who did it, and tried to make it right, but they refused! They had overpaid on purpose and were very happy with the culls, as they were making sauce anyway. Apparently their sauce was so good, they had never even come close to tasting anything like it before.:shock: They seemed to be insulted that I would try to refund their money or give free tomatoes.:twisted:

I gave them some free fresh basil and tarragon instead. ;)

My local market prices are on average:

3$ a pint 5$ per quart for mixed cherry tomatoes pre packaged

3$ per lb heirlooms
2$ per for regular (round/red/hybrids etc)
$1.50 per lb squash/cukes

$3 a pound across the board for me, big, little, and in between, pretty or ugly (some actually prefer the ugly ones - they claim they taste better!). My scale was certified this spring by NH, so for a change I'm legally using it. That price will stay for the season, although I'll probably offer a volume discount for folks who want a quantity for sauces and canning.

$3 pint for cherry and other small types
$2 a pound for large tomatoes whether heirloom or hybrid
$15-20 for a case of hybrids

Atlanta

$6 pint for cherries
$4-$5 for heirlooms

This town is crazy about good stuff.

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;493615]My local market prices are on average:

3$ a pint 5$ per quart for mixed cherry tomatoes pre packaged

3$ per lb heirlooms
2$ per for regular (round/red/hybrids etc)
$1.50 per lb squash/cukes[/QUOTE]
Curious what the market brings for a tomato plant? We sell them here for a service club that gives 100% back to the community. Sold at $3 each, or 10 for $25.

I sold for 3$ each 2 for 5$ or 5 for $10

Most other growers were getting a little more (3.50 to 4$ per) but they were mostly resellers.

[QUOTE=ScottinAtlanta;493726]Atlanta

$6 pint for cherries
$4-$5 for heirlooms

This town is crazy about good stuff.[/QUOTE]

DC is the same way. Heirlooms that you can't get more than $2/# for here (1 hour south) go for $5/# in the city.

[QUOTE=biscgolf;493809]DC is the same way. Heirlooms that you can't get more than $2/# for here (1 hour south) go for $5/# in the city.[/QUOTE]

City proper or George Town, you know what I mean.
Worth

Local support is nice to have. We charge $2 per pound, but people insist on tipping and the price is closer to $3 per pound.

People really like "All Natural". Our Farmer's Market is on Sat. from 8 to Noon and Wed. from 4PM to 7PM.

We've been selling out of everything within the first 2 hours. Claud

I wholesale for 3.85 per pound, others sell them at F markets for 6.00-6.50 per pound, we cannot keep up with demand, not even close.
We also do not get rich from the seemingly high price tomatoes, add in costs of springtime heat, cost of shipping fertilizer up, electricity for exhaust fans, and labor, we do ok.

Slicers have been $1.75/lb for about a month now. One vendor at a smaller market has his priced at $1 per pound. I dropped my pints of cherries to $2.50 from $3 last week.

[QUOTE=Worth1;493826]City proper or George Town, you know what I mean.
Worth[/QUOTE]

3/4 of the city has undergone full gentrification at this point.