Today I plan to check four farms which I hope will be a much shorter week than last week’s trip to OK. I have two new waiting list vendors to check, a waiting list vendor who has been coming for many years and one of the Market’s contracted vendors. The market has many vendors who are on the waiting list who call in on Friday in hopes that a contracted vendor will not be using their stall(s) that day. They are usually able to get the stalls they need every week, the exception might be this coming Saturday. Mother’s Day weekend is one of our busiest weekends for vendors selling flowers, the Market should be completely full Saturday unless it rains.
I had quite a long drive to get to my first stop in California, Missouri. Just a little tourist info, California, MO is the home of Burgers’ Smokehouse www.smokehouse.com which is located on HWY 87 just up the street from the greenhouse I visited. The Smokehouse has been in operation since 1952 and even gives tours. Ruby and Carl Cram own Cram’s Greenhouse which is located at their home and is open to the public. Ruby met me as I drove in and explained what types of plants they grow and which greenhouses house which plants. I was on my own after that since she was busy with customers. All their plants are pesticide free whenever possible to protect the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and all their perennials are native to Missouri. Ruby will be a Sunday waiting list vendor and hopes to be at the Market mid month if she has enough plants to justify the drive to Kansas City.
California was my furthest stop so I had to backtrack a little to get to Versailles, but that was my plan. There is a great store located on HWY 50 that I stop at every time I am in the area. The store is a Dutch Bakery and Bulk Food store filled with every kind of candy, snacks or baking supply you would want and they have a restroom. The Busy Bee greenhouse is located not far from the intersection of Hwy 5 and Hwy 52 which is an area known for their greenhouses and a produce auction house. Diane and Daryl Unruh have been coming to the City Market for many years and have beautiful flowers. They have added a roadside operation which has done very well considering this is the first year it has been open. I went to their home first, where they have one large greenhouse. I didn’t stray too far from the truck since no one was home and a couple beagles were not too happy I was there. As I was pulling out of their drive Daryl pulled us and gave me directions to their retail location where I visited with Diane and her mother. The roadside greenhouse was once a hydroponic strawberry operation ran by Diane’s parents. Things did not go as planned so they have switched it over for plant sales. It is a great location and very nice. The Unruh’s will probably be at the market for a couple more weeks if they don’t sell out before then.
From Versailles I headed west on hwy 52 to Leeton, Mo to visit one of the Market’s contracted vendors that has been selling at the Market since 2010, they are always wearing the orange Bristle Ridge t-shirts and are located in the third shed (north side of the Market) in stalls 111-114. Jeanette was busy working in the greenhouse when I arrived and Don was on the tractor heading towards their field to do some mowing. The Neal’s have mainly been selling plants and herbs but will have a wide selection of vegetables soon. The main area they farm is located a couple miles from their home so Jeanette rode with me to show me what they have planted and what is ready to harvest. While we were there her son came over and showed me a spear head he had just found while working in the fields, apparently they find quite a few arrowheads along the stream at the back of their property. Very cool!
The day just got away from me and of course my last stop of the day and I can’t find the farm. After quite a few phone calls, many of which kept dropping, I find the area they are farming. The Lor family lives in Blue Springs but farms a section of land in Pleasant Hill. It looked like they had a little trouble with standing water but the flowers, onions, sweet peas, potatoes and beets they have planted look like they are doing pretty good. Kaying Lor will be at the Market this Saturday.
I only have a few more new vendors to visit and then I will get busy checking on the contracted vendors. I still need to make a trip to the Iowa sometime soon.
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