I am sure everyone is sick of all the rain but trust me no one more than the farmers. Everywhere I go I see vegetable plants sitting in greenhouses waiting to be planted. And the farmers that were able to get their fields seeded have watched the seed wash away. Everyone needs a few dry sunny days with a light breeze, I don't think that is asking too much.
Today I headed out in the rain towards Saint Joe, Missouri to visit Randy Kahler. Kahler Family Greenhouse is usually at the Market April through mid June unless he has sold out before then.Randy has one greenhouse and a roadside stand in front of his house where he sells bedding plants. I don't think Randy will make it to mid June this year, his green house was getting pretty empty, and this was before he loaded up for the weekend.
My next stop is only a hop skip and a jump to King City and Lost Creek Farm. Donna and Darrel Clausen have a licensed bakery on their farm. Donna does most of the baking but Darrel has been known to help. In addition to the bakery, Darrel farms, and in spite of all the rain has managed to get quite a few things planted. They will be bringing white and red radishes to the market this weekend to sell in one of their stalls and bakery items in the other two. Donna's pies are wonderful, my favorite is her cherry pie.
While visiting King City I had to stop and take pictures of all the wind generators that have been erected since my visit last year. Donna told me there are 100 in the area. They are amazing to see.
I then headed down H highway through Amity and took a quick look at The Crowther Farm and then off to their bakery, Bread of Life, in Stewartsville. Everyone was very busy baking bread so I tried to stay out of their way and just enjoy the wonderful smells. Amanda and Bethany are at the Market every Saturday through December in shed two stalls 82 and 83. Bread of Life will also be at the Market on Sundays this year in stall 111.
I headed south down K highway to Gower, Missouri. If you are ever out for a drive around Mothers Day weekend you will want to stop at Comanche Acres Iris Gardens (www.comancheacresiris.com) I was lucky enough to visit this year when Jim's 17 acres of irises were in full bloom, what a sight to see. Jim thinks they will be in full bloom for at least another week.
Next stop Platsburg, Missouri and George's Garden. George was not home but I knew he wouldn't mind if I looked around. Although there was a lot of mud George did have onions and leaf lettuce coming up which will be ready to bring to market next weekend. In addition to produce George raises beautiful succulents and cactus. Like many of the farms I have visited his vegetable plants were in small pots waiting for things to dry out so they could go into the field.
William and Clara Hanks also live in Platsburg so I did not have a very long drive to get to Windy Ridge. I had heard that a tornado went through their property last week but I did not expect to see so much damage. They lost one greenhouse completely, the second is badly damaged and the third needs quite a few braces and the plastic replaced. It is a wonder no one was injured and their house was still standing. The one upside is that their plants were not damaged, so all was not lost. They just hope they can get the rest of their crops in. Their son Bill and and Daughter in-law Jennifer are at the market every Saturday in stalls 63-65.
Next week I plan to head into Kansas and I am hoping for nothing but sunshine.
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