Growing and Marketing Flowers

On March 1st, Karen Davis will present the third session in this year's series of workshops. The workshop will begin at 6:30 PM at St. Andrew's UMC and will focus on growing flowers for sale at farmers' markets. Karen Davis is a Horticulture Specialist with Lincoln University Extension, and she once owned her own flower business and supplied flowers to multiple florists, as well as selling them at the Boone County Farmers Market.

The worksop is free and open to everyone. No registration is required, so we hope that you'll join us.

Marketing Workshop--Rescheduled

The Marketing Your Products at Farmers' Markets workshop has been rescheduled. It will be held March 15th at 6:30 PM at St. Andrew's UMC. Greg Tucker, a Business Specialist with University of Missouri Extension, will be presenting. He is sure to provide great information about improving the marketing plan for any vendor and charting sales to develop best practices. Registration is not required, and everyone is welcome. There's no need to be a vendor at the De Soto Farmers' Market, so please feel free to invite others that aren't associated with the market. We'll see you then!

Social Event of the Year

The Jefferson County Soils and Crops Conference will be held on Saturday, March 26th. It's the 87th time for the event, so that means if you haven't made it in the past, you've missed the Jefferson County Social Event of the Year 86 times! How you've managed to survive without your annual dosage of "Farm Family of the Year" presentations, 4-H auctions, and great exhibits is unknown to me, but it's high time you get into the spirit of Soils and Crops and join us. The event will be held at Hillsboro High School, and there's dinner and presentations and exhibits throughout the evening. If you're interested in attending, please call the Jefferson County Extension office to make reservations: 636.797.5391. I certainly won't miss it, and I hope you can make it too.

Vendor Information Meeting

The Vendor Information Meeting for potential vendors at the market will be Tuesday, March 29th at 6:30 PM. It will be held at St. Andrew's UMC, and it is an opportunity for vendors and potential vendors to get a copy of the new rules and ask questions about the market. Dean Wilson will be available from the University of Missouri Extension to answer questions, as will someone from the Jefferson County Health Department. Informaiton packets will be available and all potential vendors are encouraged to attend. If you can't make it to the meeting, we won't take your birthday away (even if you're past the point of wanting to claim any birthdays). However, we want to convey the information as consistently as possible, so please attend if you can. If you are unavailable on the 29th, information can be sent via email or mail. Please email the market at buyfreshlocal@gmail.com for more details.

De Soto Farmers' Market Plant Sale Dates

The 2011 market season will open on May 7th, but there are special dates set aside for a plant sale prior to the grand opening. On Saturday, April 23rd and 30th, there will be a plant sale at the market. Although there won't be any artisans, we hope to have several vendors with bedding plants to get your garden and flower beds growing. We still have to work out details with vendors, but stay tuned for a preview of what will be available on these dates.