I bit the bullet today and headed out even with rain in the forecast. I am really behind on my farm visits this spring. It seems like every Thursday it has been raining or crazy cold. Thank goodness it looks like we will have a nice weekend for Mothers Day. I think most of the Market’s 175 stalls will be filled this coming Saturday with a huge selection of bedding plants, hanging baskets, cut flowers and beautiful craft items. I am sure there will be something that any mother would love to receive on her special day. For those of you looking for something fun to do on Sunday, bring mom to the Market for lunch, to browse through the Community Yard Sale, shop the Farmers’ Market or visit one of the Markets unique shops.

Today I thought I would head south east to the Versailles area to check a few greenhouses. I originally had planned to visit Bob Lorance; you all might know him as the European cucumber guy. Bob has been a vendor at the Market for many years and raises his cucumbers hydroponically. (The cultivation of plants in a nutrient liquid with or without gravel or another supporting medium) I gave him a call when I got to Sedalia to see if he would be home( Bob is from Stover, MO)  only to discover Bob has decided to take a year off from the Market and switch over to growing green beans. He plans to return in 2014; Bob will be missed this year. 

Luckily Versailles is just a little east of Stover so was not out of my way at all. I had a new Sunday vendor to check whose road side stand and greenhouses were located on Hwy 52, I wish all the farms were this easy to find. Chris Pifer is a vendor at the Columbia Farmers Market on Saturdays and has been looking for a way to expand his business. The City Market, Sunday farmers’ market is the perfect way to do this. Chris specializes in very large hanging baskets. He starts them very early in his greenhouses with seeds or plugs. They were beautiful. His greenhouses were bulging with a wide variety of plants, herbs and ferns. The last greenhouse we went into was full of the largest tomato plants I have ever seen, the stalks were huge. It reminded me of Jack and the Beanstalk. Each plant had a cord that ran along the vine to the ceiling of the greenhouse and were secured with clips; this helped to support the massive vines which where weighted down with large vine ripe tomatoes. Chris had just finish picking before I arrived, it was a sight to see. All five of his greenhouses are heated by burning saw dust, which is very efficient, very green and saves him a lot of money compared to propane. Many of the farmers are getting away from using propane to heat their greenhouse; it’s a good thing.  If all goes well you will see Hwy 52 Family Greenhouse at the market in the near future.

      

Ten minutes down the road and I arrive at the Busy Bee road side stand/greenhouse. Busy Bee is owned and operated by Daryl and Diane Unruh also located on hwy 52 in Versailles. This location is strictly a retail space, their main greenhouses are on their farm a few miles away. Diane was busy getting an order together which was to be picked up a little earlier than expected so I just showed myself around.  Darryl also heats his two greenhouses with wood. In addition to bedding and vegetable plants Daryl will be bringing mums, straw, fall decorative corn and pumpkins to the Market in the fall. I was thrilled to see a hummingbird in their greenhouse; they are attracted to all the flowers. I am sure Diane was thinking “what’s the big deal” since they see this all the time. I just kept trying to get a picture.

I ran out of time today since it took me 2 ½ hours just to get to the first farm so I will just check one more location today. Mark and Esther Zimmerman have been waiting list vendors since I started at the Market. Zimmerman’s Farm Market is located at their home on E hwy just down the road from the Central Missouri Produce Action. You might remember I visited the action last September. Mark has five greenhouses filled with bedding plants, handing baskets and one dedicated to growing tomatoes. This tomato house is setup similar to the Pifers. All the plants are in the ground protected from the elements. Mark will be bringing tomatoes to the Market this coming Saturday. Unlike some of our vendors Mark has been able to get his crops in the fields. The covered rows you see in the pictures are being used to protect the delicate new early corn crop. The strawberry plants were flowering so strawberries are not far behind. Onions and broccoli were ready and all the other plants were just getting started. Mark and Diane were not at home but told me to just show myself around, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. It was wonderful just to walk through the fields. I love living in the city but it is always nice to get in the rural areas every week.

 

Next week I need to head to Topeka, Kansas to check a new Sunday vendor. I am hoping for a dry sunny day where I don’t need to wear my boots. Thank goodness I had them today it was very sloppy everywhere I went.