To Market We Go!

As we have been prepping for the Shoreline Farmers Market this Saturday (July 18th), we were reminded of the week before our first market last year. Last summer we were still finishing up our logo/label when everything fell in place for us to start selling at the market - in exactly a week! At that point we didn't have a finished label, postcards, market supplies (canopy, handwashing station, etc.). Even though it's not nearly as crazy as last year, the week before a market always seems to be particularly busy for us. Since we're producing raw, local honey, we have to wait for the bees to make the product - and sometimes that's later than we'd like!

What does a week before the market look like? Or at least, what did this week look like?

Saturday (7 days to go) - Inspect hives in Shoreline to see if there is honey to harvest. Thankfully, the bees had been busy! At this point we put on a bee escape (a one-way maze) so the bees will leave the honey supers (boxes) naturally, without having to use any chemicals. Inspect Greenwood hives, decide there is not enough to harvest...yet.

Monday (5 days to go) - Remove the honey supers from the Shoreline hives. Bottle 40lbs of Fremont Honey, and pour 40lbs more Fremont honey into the bottler.

Tuesday (4 days to go) - Waiting day as the honey settles in the bottler, and air bubbles rise to the top. This helps the honey be nice and clear when bottled.

Wednesday (3 days to go) - Extract 46lbs of Shoreline honey and bottle another 20lbs of Fremont.

Thursday (2 days to go) - Pour Shoreline honey into the bottler first thing in the morning...and wait for it to settle. Label bottled Fremont honey.

Friday (1 day to go) - Finish labeling Fremont honey, and bottle and label Shoreline honey...and go to sleep when finally finished! Oh, and finish and print newly redesigned postcards and business cards.

What does this schedule mean when you both work full-time? A week full of sticky evenings.

I also worked on another project for the market this week in between the bottling - here's a sneak peek!