May 1st, what a perfect day to visit a few greenhouse and shop for flowers. Today is my day off but I need to get some flowers for my home. I happen to know about a few good greenhouses in the area (at least 12) and it’s a perfect day to go shopping. Enright Gardens, in Edgerton Kansas and the Flower Farm in Gardner are two of my favorites. Enrights have a lot of large greenhouses so they have a great selection to choose from. I had a terrible time not getting carried away, I love flowers. Just as I was getting ready to load my purchases in the car I saw Sue Enright and was given a tour of their newly rentevated event space. They used an old barn which is surrounded by gardens and bubbling ponds. The facility will hold 350 guest and even has a private brides dressing room. It was just beautiful! Made me wish I knew someone who was getting married. For more information visit their web sites www.enrightgardens.com. (Greenhouse) www.brooklyn-hall.com (hall rental)
I needed to get a new tropical plant for my home so went to the guy in the know Keith Johnson, at the Flower Farm in Gardner. Keith has the best selection of tropical plants and knows everything there is to know about each plant. In addition to tropicals he also has a big selections of annual and perennial for your garden. Keith is at the Market every weekend in the middle farmers’ shed in stalls 69, 70 and 71. The Flower Farms web site is www.theflowerfarmgardner.com
Thursday Deb Churchill (my boss) and I headed to Oklahoma and southern Missouri. Our goal was to check 8 farms which we did after a long day of driving more miles than I care to think about. We left the market about 6 a.m. and got back at 10 p.m. that night, I was dragging in the morning. My plan of attack is to start with the farm which is the farthest away and work my way back home. The first farm today was in Jay, OK located along the Arkansas Oklahoma line. Tang Moua is a new waiting list vendor that will be coming to the Market on the 5th. We had a little trouble finding the actual farm since we couldn’t find very many addresses on the mailboxes. We drove up to one house and asked the gentleman sitting on the porch for directions. I think he probably does not get very many people to talk to because before we knew it his head was poked in the window ready to visit. He was really surprised that we had driven al the way from Kansas City. After one more wrong house we found Tang and her sister busy at work. In addition to the produce they grow Tong Thao, Tangs sister, also operates an organic egg business. The large chicken house sits across from the fields so absolutely no pestisides can be used around the chicken house or in the fields. The sisters had a huge variety of produce planted even artichokes which I have never seen before. As we walked through the fields Tang explained what each part of the plant was used for or could be used for. Her rule of thumb was “if bugs eat it you can”.
I had one more vendor in Oklahoma to visit and had hoped to be at their farm by 11:30, no such luck. Welch , OK had a huge storm go through the area on Monday and had major flooding. We had to take a detour due to high water on hwy 10. It was amazing how many miles we drove with fields flooded on each side of the highway. Natasha and Bob Shufflebottom were busy taking care of their livestock when we arrived. The storm had knocked down four large trees, one of which fell on part of their house. They had two out buildings damaged as well and lost a new born baby ram to the storm. The Shufflebottom’s have hundreds of animals on their farm at any given time and include sheep, geese, chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs and of course cattle. Bob originally bought 400 acres when he came to Okalhoma, last year he added an additional 50 acres. As you can probably tell from the pictures I took the sheep are ready to be sheered soon. Bob has had some customers at the market ask to purchase some of the wool for spinning and the rest will be sold to fund a much needed vacation. When Bob and Natasha don’t make it to the Market it is usually because they need to be at home taking care of their animals. Last year they missed most of the summer because of the extreme heat and the animals needed to be watered throughout the day. Bob, Natasha and their son Bobbie are at the market most Saturdays and some Sundays year round when possible.
I did’nt plan the trip out very well since we drove right by Anderson and Seneca , Missouri on the trip down and now have to backtrack but at least we are headed twords Kansas City. The Lee family works two large sections of land just south of Joplin in Seneca and like all the farms I will check today have a large variety of produce planted. I have been visiting their farm for the past four years and have watched their family grow. The lee Family Farm is made up of Lor Gee Lee, Mai Mou Xiong, Toua, James, Kao, Kong, Sia, Koua, Song, Xee, Shoua and Kou. As always I find them busy working in the fields. I am always amazed by the amount of rock they need to work around. Piled by almost every farm field I visit I find a large pile of rocks which are constantly being pulled out of the fields. In addition to their main field which can be seen from the road they also have a smaller plot located at the back of their property. This field is planted with various virieties of potatoes and onions. The Lee family drives to Kansas City every Saturday and are located in the third farmers shed (north side of the Market) in stalls 116, 117 & 118.
My next stop is Anderson, MO which on the map looks like it would just be a short drive, but like most of the areas I visit there is really not a direct route. Nhia and Ying Xiong’s farm is very difficult to find, but like the Lee’s farm, I have been here many times so it is getting much easier. The Xiong’s farm also gets a little bigger each year I visit. To actually get to the farm you have to drive down a long very rocky lane and through two cattle gates. The first time I came to their farm it took me forever to find it, they did not have a mailbox yet , just a stick in the ground with a red flag tied to it to mark the lane. Nhia has a beautiful farm with row after row covered in black plastic and lined with drip line. This is a lot of work to lay the plastic but well worth it since it helps to controll the weeds. There is a special machine that lays the plastic and tucks the edges in a trench to keep it in place. I always wonder who invents these types of machines. Ying is busy working in the fields while Nhia gives us the grand tour. As always his produce is beautiful. The Xiong’s are at the market every Saturday in shed 2, stalls 84, 85 and 86.
We were running really behind by his time and had three vendors to visit in Fairview; MO. Fairview is east of Joplin. Our first Fairview stop was a new vendor, Abby Vang. Abby and her granddaughter had just pulled some radishes before we arrived and were busy tying them in bundles to sell at one of the local markets on Friday. Abby pointed out various rows of produce while her granddaughter translated. In addition to all the usual produce the Vang’s also grow peanuts and rice. Abby will be coming to the Market in a few weeks when more of her produce is ready. You have to have a lot of produce to justify the trip to Kansas City.
Our second stop in Fairview was on a main road but we kept passing it, I think we turned around three times and my GPS was getting very cranky. Mailor was on crutches the last time I saw her so I was glad to see she was getting around much better. She had her produce in but had done so a little later than she had planned so probably won’t be at the market before June. I asked Mailor if she would be bringing raspberries to the Market since she has quite a few bushes. She didn’t think they would have enough to bring since her children seem to eat them all before they get a chance to pick them. Mailor is a waiting list vendor so her location will vary week to week.
Last stop in Fairview is at Ton Cha’s farm. Ton has been a waiting list vendor for quite a few years but does not usually have enough produce to bring to Kansas City very often. Last summer the drought and weeds got the best of him. This year he has a new plan of attack, he has laid black plastic in his fields. I hope things go better for him this year.
I was sure the vendor at our last stop had given up on us, we finally made it to Carthage at 7:30, just before dark. Craig and Kendra Hansen grow one crop, elephant garlic, and they do it very well. The day before Craig had cut the large purple flowers off of each of his 1400 plants. If the flowers are not cut off they will cause the garlic bulb to be about half the size that it should be. And for those who love the flavor of garlic, the flowers are edible and can be sprinkled on your salad. Once the garlic is harvested Craig will take it in the barn where he will place the bulbs on racks to dry. After the bulbs are dried it is bagged and ready to bring to the Market. Hopefully you will see Hillside Farm by the end of June or first of July.
I have to regroup this week so not sure where I will be headed on Thursday but I do know it will be a much shorter trip.
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