Haha...never even thought of this. My intention was to clean it and paint it and then build inside it putting in slanted plywood and then some kind of shelf. I'm usually surrounded by horse manure so didn't think about what other people would think. I like your idea and I think using it for pumpkins would be okay too. I still don't want to give up totally on the idea. I really need something with wheels that is already made!! This spreader sat for 10 years and then I used it once and it has been sitting useless for the last 3 years. I guess I will have to rethink this...hmm....do you think if I paint it a non-farmlike colour and hang flowers on the tines?? Ha...Thanks so much! Anybody else out there with more advice?

I like the idea - and I don't think 99 percent of the people (no offense tifolie!) would even think twice about weather the produce is sanitary or not. What almost every successful seller will tell you is that establishing a conversation with customers will lead to larger sales.

Yeah, I would clean it up, as much as you can to make it look like it just came from a showroom. But then visit a Feed or Hardware store and buy a couple bags of Cow Manure and put the unopened bags on the sides.

Geez, if I had one, I would get some Styrofoam, mold it into what looks like a cow patty, paint it brownish black and decorate the spreader with it. Hang signs about how you are trying to spread the ability to eat tasty produce, not the crap supermarkets sell. How unloading whatever you don't sell will be easy - you'll just spread it on the "Back 40" and have lots of volunteer plants next year.

I would even go so far as to take some pix and send them to local papers, emphasizing the uniqueness of your stand!

Mike

Mike, Happy to get two completely different opinions, especially since I also liked the idea. If I am able to use the manure spreader, Tom's advice will help me be aware to make sure to have it show room shape before considering bringing in the veggies. Either way, you have now given us good ideas about taking pix and putting them in the paper etc. We thought we could also raise money for a charity by taking donations or selling pumpkins or gourds...something where we have an abundance. Then we can keep that money for a charity agency, which there are many everywhere. We might get more people buying from us and giving a donation to get a cheap pumpkin. Thanks so much for your advice and enthusiasm!!!

How many of your customers will even recognize it as a manure spreader? They will think of it as some sort of nice, old fashioned farm junk from the good ole days. Go to it.

Thanks to everyone. I have posted some photos of the finished stand.....I think its great. We put so much red paint on it that most people don't know what it is! I like it. Easy to move when we are done selling. I haven't used it for manure for a few years and I am happy it is being recycled for a good use. It will probably end up doing something else in the future....maybe full of flowers? We are not finished "decorating" around the stand. We will put some nice bales of straw and some bushel baskets for corn. We are still waiting on most of our vegetables but will have lots of tomatoes, corn, beans, peas etc.

http://s745.photobucket.com/albums/xx93/tifolie/

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket