Farm Visits Thursday, April 5, 2012

Spring has sprung and I am once again hitting the road to visit all the contracted vendors’ farms and all new vendors who would like to sell at the Market. I have received so many new vendor applications this year that I will be staying very busy this summer trying to get every farm checked. With all the rain we got on Wednesday night my big yellow rubber boots were a must today.

I try to check farms in a similar area so I can make a big loop and end up back in Kansas City by the end of the day. Today I am heading north to Plattsburg, Osborn, Lathrop and Lawson, MO my last stop will be in Kansas City, KS.

George Slusher, from Plattsburg, has been a vendor at the market for about seven years. Last year he took a year off and decided he missed all his customers and the other vendors so will be back this year. George has down sized his operation quite a bit so will only be renting one stall this year. He has been busy this winter building raised beds to plant his potatoes and onions in. A raised bed garden is a garden that is above ground and contained in an area with high sides. The farmer walks between the beds and it is a very organized way to farm. It can be any depth you choose and can be used for virtually anything you wish to plant. George plans to be at the Market this coming Saturday and will be selling his smaller potted tomato plants. He has some that are taller than me and won’t fit in his truck. He also has a little bit of garlic, black walnuts, cabbage plants and green onions.

Luckily the rain stopped by the time I left Georges and the sun came out. Osborn, MO is north of Plattsburg off highway 36. Bob Dorton is a new vendor at the market and operates a small tree farm. This is the first tree farm I have ever visited. Bob is bringing small trees to the Market, mostly the pine variety but will also have blue berry bushes and other assorted trees. As with most of our vendors, Bob works a day job in addition to his tree business so was not available to show me around but his horse was there to keep me company. Lucky for me he was very friendly and just followed me around.

Today is the day for visiting a wide variety of farms. Next up is a chicken farm. Ligia Wilson has about 300 chickens and is in the process of building a pretty big chicken coop. She has one small movable coop which gets moved around the property so the chickens can be in a grassy area. Ligia had a great devise to help keep the chicken safe from predators such as chicken hawks and owls. When a hawk swoops in the area a sensor goes off letting out a loud siren type sound, the chickens run for cover under the chicken coop, very cool. Best part of the day was seeing all the new baby chicks and the variety of chicken that lays blue eggs. Ligia will be at the Sunday market selling eggs as soon as she gets all of her equipment which is required by the Health Department. She also has plans to sell live chickens at the Sunday Market as soon as she gets her Animal Display permit, hopefully soon.

I had intended to check the Guban farm in Lawson next but could not get a hold of them to open the gate to their property. I was able to take pictures of a small section of their peach orchard. The Guban’s grow beautiful peaches and will also have table grapes this summer. I will have to try again when I am in the area.

I have another new farm to check, I thought it was in Kearney; oops that is where they live. The farm is in Lathrop so I have to backtrack a little. Tom and Anna Christopher operate a pretty large farm. They currently have one large greenhouse but have plans to add another one this summer. Today they were working on staking the 850 tomato plants which are planted in the ground in the green house. This particular house also has sides which roll up. So far Tom has 10,000 cabbage plants, 5000 cauliflower plants and 5000 broccoli plants in the field. Christopher Farm has 260 acres so as the season goes on they will also plant sweet corn, watermelons, cantaloupe, pumpkins, eggplant, peppers and European cucumbers. I think they will be a great addition to the Market.

One more farm to check before I head home. Sai Lee has a small plot behind her house in KC, KS. Sai has been coming to the Market since the spring of 2011. She will be bringing garlic, green onions, cilantro and lettuce to the Market on Saturday. Her lettuce was looking very good.

Next week I need to head down to the Leeton area, I am hoping for a sunny spring day.