May 2019 - 23

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
grow plants for its retail operation.
Eventually he started selling them
from his own market.
" Now, we've got 18,000 square feet, "
Weiser said. " We have two houses.
I grow tomatoes and peppers and
different things. ... bedding plants and
baskets and 4.5-inch stuff. "
There is, however, one sale that he
isn't ready to make.
" The big wholesalers and stuff - the
big Lowe's and Walmarts and all that
- I don't sell to those people, " Weiser
said. " Before I sell to them, I'll shut
the operation. "
Starting small
Weiser said startup growers should
keep in mind the sale before they
plant.
" Start out with small acreage and
make sure you have a place to sell it, "
he said. " Too many people get into
it with no place to sell it, and they
dump it on the market and it hurts
everybody. "
His own parents and grandparents
followed that model in the 1930s. His
grandfather, a schoolteacher, bought
the farm in 1932, and worked there
during the summer.
" My grandmother started the retail
sales on the front porch of the house
I live in now, " Weiser said. That
happened in 1936.
Weiser's father served in World
War II but came back to the farm
afterward. The farm market has been
expanded several times over the years,
and eventually, when U.S. Route 15
was constructed on the edge of the
farm property, a new market was
built on that corridor, along with a
blueberry U-pick operation. Different
farm enterprises have been tried: At
one time they fed cattle and even
pork. For years, Weiser, his father
and brother were partners in the
operation, but his father passed away a
few years ago and his brother recently
got out of the business.
" It's down to myself and my wife
now, " Weiser said. " I'm going to be
leasing out a lot of my ground now. "
Trying something new
The PVGA award recognized
Weiser's " longstanding record of
service and dedication to the fruit and
vegetable industries of Pennsylvania, "
and throughout his career, he's stayed
curious and willing to try new things.
In the late 1970s, his farm was
the site of a study of the effects of
fusarium wilt on cantaloupe and
honeydew melons. In 2010, Weiser
added a high tunnel to study different
types of tomatoes and their yields.
The Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association recognized Tim Weiser's " longstanding
record of service and dedication to the fruit and vegetable industries of Pennsylvania. "
" I try new things, I try new
varieties, " he said. " You've got to keep
up in today's market, with what's being
grown and what's out there to grow.
You just can't rely on the same old
stuff you sold 15 years ago. "
That last statement would include
both fruit and vegetable growers.
" At our market, our Red Delicious
sales now are 10 percent of what they
were 20 years ago, just because there
are different varieties of apples that
come in early that taste better than
Red Delicious did, " he said. VGN
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VGN | MAY 2019 | 23

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May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2019