I'd suggest an honor system for your location. Then you won't feel you have to be there every hour. Signs for names of item and price (keep prices simple like 50 cents apiece or 2/$1.00 will make it easy for people) will be necessary, plus a jar or box for people to place their money. If you happen to be near the stand when someone stops, certainly say hello and ask if you can help, as people like to know "their farmer," but the will be equally happy to pick and choose their own stuff...and most everyone is honest IF you give them the opportunity.
Good luck with your new venture.

If you take anniew's advice you should do what I have seen others do. Take a metal box and bolt from the inside to the stand. then lock it so people can put the money in through a slit in the top of the box. This will keep kids, well everyone really, from being able to easily take your money.

Great advice chinamigarden.

Where can one buy a metal box? Also what type of lock would you suggest be used? We are putting a stand up about a mile
down the road from us on a main road leading into town.

One mile away sounds pretty far to leave unattended, but maybe......
Perhaps you might consider standing by, especially during peak hours to get a chance to establish a relationship with your customers. To me an unattended stand with no one in sight for a mile sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Be careful growing things "that I would personally like to buy in our area but cant find". Many times I've tried growing things I wanted, only to find that others didn't.

Also, as much as we'd like to provide a service to the community, we are, after all, in business to make money to pay for our labor. One fellow I know puts the bottom line this way- "Everything is sold by the pound. The crop that weighs most & is fast and easy for me to grow is cucumbers. I grow them, man." Yes, yes, I know about diversifications, about how garlic fetches $3.00/lb, basil $6, etc. But the point is that you have to consider what other people want, how much they'll end up buying, and how much you will be getting for your labor. Resist the temptation to jump bigtime into unproven products with limited appeal. Experiment with these new ideas first and save the waste of time, money, and space till after you've proven the concept a little.

Don't know exactly how to suggest you determine what it is they would buy, really. Like the rest of us, you'll have some flops and some wins. Maybe a suggestion box your first year might help.

Best of luck.

Thank you for your suggestions -- Irish_Eyes, if you do a search on eBay for "Suggestion Box" or "Drop Box" I think you will find something suitable.

Jayreynolds - good advise about not jumping too heavily into unproven products. I think I will try a number of them in a small way this year as it's our testing year before we retire next year to do this on a more serious basis. I especially like the idea of a suggestion box.

Cheers,
Marquisa

Hi there, I am by no means experienced but here are my 2 cents anyway. Last year I tried selling out of my driveway and it was miserable. If I do it again I will do a few things differently. I will put up signs that say "fresh produce- 100 yards on right- Wednesday's 4-6 and Saturdays 9-12" or something similar. I may even make removable plaques that state what is available that week. You have to get people ready for your stand. They have to know to slow down for it, a table or sign at the end of a drive isn't enough warning- at least on my windy road. I don't like to leave items on the honor system because there are too many people around who have no honor. Most people like to be able to interact with someone at a stand and if you have set times every week then people can work a trip to your stand into their routine. If you have certain times of being open then your produce will be in better condition, also. A handful of basil left around in the summer heat will not be as nice as some that you cut right before opening your stand. (as in, if you cut it at 7am and no one bought it until 7pm) If your stand is only open for a few hours those crops that are more tender will be better for your customers. Last year I had bagged lettuce and threw almost all of it out. I ended up just putting out a few bags and left the rest in my refridgerator so it wouldn't all wilt. Anything I didn't sell went to my dh's work with him the next day.

I have no idea if this will work for me. I might want to try selling from my driveway again but I will plan a marketing strategy if I go down that road....

HTH

I've been selling 4" pots of perennials and some fresh veggies from a stand at the end of my driveway, on the honour system, for the last two summers. The plants have the advantage of being able to be watered in the morning and standing up well all day. My cart has a canopy on it that keeps the sun off most of the day. I work all day during the week but may or may not be home when people stop on the weekends. Some people like to talk-about organic growing methods or gardening advice etc.
I've NEVER had some one take something without paying. Once someone left an IOU with a name, didn't come back to pay but showed up 3 months later with money explaining that she'd forgotten. I have a little wooden box with a slot in the top that is bolted to the cart and could be padlocked but choose not to so people can make their own change.
I'm not in a very busy location but people drive by on their way home from work and I think they have begun to look for my cart. I do often see a farmer or two stop on their tractor for some tomatoes or muskmelon for their lunch LOL.
I found the best veggies were the "tried and true" ones...I put some heirloom Green Zebra tomatos on the stand and no one wanted them because they didn't recognize them. I guess you could probably introduce some different veggies over the years and educate your customers once they knew you.

Ive been using the honor system going on 4 years now and i stay busy. I very rarely have problems with people taking things. I even leave my produce outside overnight, and only once in a blue moon does something get taken. I get a metal lock box from walmart for about 12 bucks and it lasts about 3 seasons.

An unattended stand may work to a certain level, but I think if you're looking to grow your business you need to be more active. Maybe you could do a combination--use the money box for the times you can't be there, but try to be there during high traffic times, evenings, weekends, maybe mornings if you have cooks who want 'just-picked' produce.

Anytime you have a something that's just come into season, you should be there to present it to the public. 'First corn of the season. Monday 9 a.m. to Noon'. That limits your time a little.

For your stand, yes, you need to give people warning and reminders, even a mile in any direction so they'll have a couple of minutes to think before they reach the stand.

On your road signs, say when you're open, "Daily, 8-6" or whatever.

As special additions to the road signs and at the stand itself, you might post special notices--'Fresh-picked corn, for sale Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until we run out'. That way you can keep encourage customers to be there at particular, concentrated times, so you can be there also, while using the honor system at other times. Or, 'Fresh picked herbs available every Wednesday and Saturday morning, 8 a.m. to Noon.'

Situate your stand at a place where cars can safely pull off on EITHER side of the highway. Some people won't stop if it looks as if it's hard to get into or out of the spot.

During hot summer days, when you're there, throw some ice into a cooler and sell bottled soft drinks and water.

As a further thought, even if your farmer's market is declining, you might consider it an opportunity to show off those 'special' items. If you're growing heirloom tomatoes, for instance, you might put up a sign at your stand saying you'd be at the farmers' market with such-and-such. If your market allows samples, offer some. Slice the Green Zebra so people can see what they look inside, and then have chunks cut up with toothpicks in them so the customer can sample them.

If the market is in decline, they might give you room to display all kinds of stuff. The first couple of visits, don't consider it as sales, consider it as advertising.

Maybe take flyers with times and products to those summer homes. Post less detailed flyers at the local centers wherever there's a spot for postings.

One reason people opt for unattended stands is the perception that they're wasting the time when a customer isn't actually there. Utilizing the down time may be key here. This is the time to make markers for garden rows, design flyers, make signs for the stand and for the market, add trim to plain sheets to use on the tables at the market, compose newsletters, write an article on "Green Zebras" for the local newspaper, do your bookkeeping, make seed tapes, look through magazines for recipes using your herbs so you can copy them and give them to your customers, mix herbal bath salts, take photographs of your produce for advertising or so you can show potential customers next year before the vegetables arrive. It's handy if you have a laptop, even handier if you have electricity, but you can use plain old pen and paper.

Ray

Irish eyes,

The stand I am thinking about uses a metal mailbox that locks with a regular padlock. Any metal locking box will do just make sure to use carriage bolts with the nuts inside the box so it can't be unfastened from the outside.

The honour system works best when there is always a possibility you will be walking around the corner anytime. :>) To have a stand in the middle of nowhere (ie a mile away) is an accident waiting to happen. We have several honour system stands in our area- and they seem to work fine. One is fairly sophisticated, ie a small building with a light that goes on when you open the door. Everything is pre-packaged and marked with a price- or signs 3 for a dollar, etc.
I personally sell plants, and only sell when I am home. I put out the sign, and continue to work in the garden/house and keep an eye/ear out for customers. Have had customers surprise/scare me when they almost walk in the house looking for me, if I haven't heard them! I do have a bell and a sign- but not everyone reads!! Sometimes people have managed to get in when I am not home- but they always leave money- as far as I know, nothing has ever gone missing! :>)

Veggies and cut flowers would work well for an honour system stand- from what I can see, best return is probably for the tried and true, tomatoes, apples, eggs...

Good luck, Rae

I use a mailbox bolted to a pole and a small padlock. I cut a slot in the top just wide enough for the cash. Its important to place a sign over the box showing people where to put the money, you would be surprised how many folks don't know where to put the money. I always empty the box every hour and never leave the box locked overnight.
You will win the respect of your customers when they see how much you trust them, it really makes a difference...Bob.

I never read so many great ideas. I wish these suggestions were available o me years ago. I think your community, your resolve and a lot of "Happenstance" will determine wether your direct marketing strategy will succeed. We could always draw a pretty good roadside clientele during the strawberry season. My wife preferred to look busy by the stand while I usually took garden tools and tried to work while keeping an eye on the stand. Guess who had more sales? We eventually were able to sell most of the crop from a customer phone list, some repeat customers coming 40 miles or more to pickup an order.
But we are now almost totally committed to farmers markets and the reason is TIME. For most produce you don't need to worry about the freshness as much because you are moving the product much more quickly. You are not irritated by the non-buying shoppers because they are not drawing you from a schedued task. We found that the Farmers' Market became a business venture that paid much more than we had anticipated. Tomatoes,peppers,beans sold by the pint, fruits sold by the half pint. We could cut 150 bunches of basil and sell it before it wilted and similar with other greens.
We still welcome shoppers at reduced hours, but the irratation goes on: The passerby almost always wants sweet corn 2 months early, is looking for a variety of watermelon that his parents used to buy in the vicinity or worse yet, he wants to sell you his surplus zucchini crop.

Sue, I read your March '05 follow up. Made a print-out. How was '06 for you? Whick kind of cherry tomatoes do you raise in zone 4 to sell?
Doug

Hi Everybody! I usually come on here looking for flower advice but my son is doing a roadside stand produce business this summer. I am trying to save money and I want to use my old manure spreader so I have a stand on wheels. It is an old ground driven spreader. Thought we could just build the shelves/roof or put awning. If we painted and cleaned it up to look nice I could tow it out to the road. Anybody ever see a manure spreader turned into a roadside stand?? I have been searching the internet for hours and didn't find any photos. If anyone has the time to look at it Thanks so much for any advice!

Hello, newbie farmer here! Starting a homestead roadside stand this summer and have a few questions. I have a large driveway (with parking capacity) that would be ideal for putting a stand with the exception that a row of ginormous blue spruce block the visibility of the actual stand from the road. Though I have a ample road frontage to put many, many signs, do you think the limited visibility of the stand will decrease a buyers likelihood to stop and pull in? I could locate the stand further down the highway but I feel I would be making my stand unsafe? Suggestions? Thanks for the advice!

i vote for safety. sounds like you have an ideal situation for parking and will be able to direct folks with signage. individual signs that run along the road that read: peas! cucumbers! tomatoes! sweet corn! etc. depending on what's stocked should do the trick.

I am looking for tips and ideas for keeping my produce as fresh as possible, like Lettuce for instance, I have many varieties to display, how can I keep them fresh while I am away... Thanks.