I think everyone in the office was a little jealous today when I left to do farm visits since the weather was beautiful, much to nice to be inside. As I drove over the Broadway Bridge I couldn’t believe how much the river had risen since yesterday.
Today I am heading north to King City, MO. For those of you who have never gotten the chance to drive along 31 highway between King City and 169 you are missing quite a site, there are miles of huge wind turbines as far as you can see. I just think they are really beautiful to watch. Donna Clausen, Lost Creek Farm, told me they turn into the wind and turn off whenever there is a storm passing through. The ones located by their house are very quiet but Donna said they have a different kind down the road which are a little louder. I guess you would get use to the sound after a while. Donna was busy baking when I arrived and het kitchen smelled heavenly. Donna has an inspected kitchen located in a separate building across from her home. It is very nice and supper clean. Darrel has added a new building this year to house their chickens. As soon as they start laying they will be bringing brown eggs to the market. Donna had 20 minutes before her timer went off so she walked me through the six acres they farm. In addition to wonderful baked goods, her pies are to die for, they grow potatoes, green & red cabbage, snow peas, green beans, assorted greens, beets, onions and tomatoes. Their fields looked great thanks to a couple of the neighbor girls who help with the weeding. Lost Creek farm is at the market every Saturday in the first shed on the south side of the market closest to 5th street. www.lost-creek-farm.com
I can’t resist stopping in Stewartsville on my way to Plattsburg. Just off highway 36is Bread of Life bakery. As always everyone was busy baking but took a few minutes to visit with me. Bread of life is a family bakery which has been part of the City Market for the past 9 years. They are known for their gluten free baked goods and they grind some of the flour they use in their breads. For more information about Bread of Life visit their web site at www.breadoflifebakery.net or stop by and see them every Saturday and Sunday in the middle farmers shed.
Once I get to Plattsburg and cross a few streams I arrive at Windy Ridge Greenhouse & Produce. William is busy mowing but takes a break to give me the grand tour. You might remember the pictures from my blog last summer when the Hank’s had a tornado go through their farm and destroy a couple of their green houses. The Hank’s will still have some beautiful hanging baskets available at the market on Saturday if you already forgot to water the ones you bought in early May. They will also have hibiscus and other assorted perennials. William is not really happy with his broccoli or cabbage right now but hopes they will perk up soon. His cauliflower has already started to turn a little yellow so they tied the leaves around the heads to keep it white; I learn something new every day. This year William’s son Bill, his wife Clara and daughter in law planted two rows of heirloom tomatoes, they looked great. Bill came across a cantaloupe seed which will produce after 54 days, so if everything is perfect in the universe the Hank’s should be bringing cantaloupes to the market the 2nd or 3rd week of July. A few of the plants already had a few small melons on the vines. William’s watermelon patch was looking pretty good depending on the variety and size of melon, each plant can produce 6 to 10 melons. I can’t wait till local melons make it to the market. If all goes well the Hank’s will get all their pumpkin plants in tomorrow. The farthest field had more tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and squash. The Hank’s are at the market every Saturday in the middle shed.
Last stop for the day will be in Gower at the farm of Jim Hedgecock. Jim is expanding a little this year and adding heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and squash to his stall on Saturday. Jim is known around the market as the “Iris Guy” since he grows acres of irises and has a big mail order business. www.comancheacresiris.com Jim is in the farmer with local supplement category and supplements his stall with local apples from Lexington, MO in September. Jim had 70 tomato plants in the ground and they were looking pretty good. If all goes well he plans to add more vegetables next year. Comanche Acres Iris Garden is in the first shed on the south side of the market every Saturday.
Sorry for the lack of pictures this week, my camera decided not to work while I was at Lost Creek Farm, I will make sure it is up and going before I head out again.
I am taking a week off from farm visits next week since we are coming up on the markets “Groovalicious Fruit” celebration and 4th of July weekend, which is always really busy. After the holiday I plan on rechecking some of our vendors which I visited in the spring.
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