I started the morning by looking at all the weather forecast between here and Oklahoma, with all the rain and flash floods I wanted to make sure what we would be getting into today. Since my Oklahoma trip is one of the farthest Deb Churchill, my boss and property Manager for the City Market, kept me company and was the official photographer.

I had spoken with Bob Shufflebotham on Wednesday to find out if any of the main roads were flooded so we could avoid them.  We still managed to have a minor glitch and had to get out the map to avoid water on hwy 166. I have to mention an abandon town we went through on the way to Welch, OK. This town is obviously abandon and many of the houses have been gutted out or there is nothing left but concrete foundations. In the background all you see are very large sand hills, quite a few of them. Needless to say it is a little creepy, something you might see in a Sci-Fi movie. Deb and I thought maybe a tornado had gone through years ago and had wiped out the town but, this is not the case. Apparently the area was used during WW II for mining lead to use during the war; this explains the large sand dunes. After the war ended the area was considered unsafe and the government bought all the homes and the residents of the town relocated. It has set empty ever since. The led laced sand hills were much larger but over the years the mounds have slowly been transported to be used to make shingles. If you want to know something I guess it does pay to just ask. This explanation was much more interesting than what we came up with.

Now back to my farm visit. Deb and I always enjoy our visit to Natasha’s Farm in Welsh, OK. I always know we will be greeted by Bobbie, and more than likely he will be carrying some type of animal. Today we were not disappointed when he came running up to the truck carrying   a puppy in one arm and a kitten in the other. Natasha’s Farm is named after Bob’s wife Natasha and has been in operation for fifteen years. The 530 acre ranch is home to two varieties of sheep, cattle, ducks, chickens, geese and pigs all of which run freely around the property and have been given names by Bobbie. Oklahoma has had a lot of rain over the past two weeks so everything was pretty wet, a little too wet for the truck to go in the fields without getting stuck, so the next form of transportation was Bob’s three wheeler. Deb and I got on the back and we headed out into the fields, it was beautiful and Bob pointed out the animals as we went giving us a little background on each. Bob had just finished cutting hay a few weeks ago to insure the animals would have enough food for the winter, most of these are stored close to the house to keep them safe from vandals’ and thieves.  We were lucky enough to be able to see two new calves which were only two days old; they were in the field under the watchful eye of the mother cow. Natasha sent us on our way with a care package which I will be enjoying tonight for dinner. Bob, Natasha and Bobbie are at the Market every Saturday and some Sundays. Sundays are difficult for them to do since they have to go back to OK after the Saturday market to tend to the animals, that is another three and a half hour drive each way. Natasha’s farm is located in the second pavilion is stall 62 on Saturday and Sunday.

 

So far we have been in two states, Oklahoma and Kansas, our next stop is in Seneca, Missouri. Seneca is home to the Lee Family who have been vendors at the City Market for six years. As always they were busy in the fields getting things ready to bring to the Market. They are farming three locations this year, like many of our farmers they are expanding. In addition to the fields next to their home they have a field about a mile away and another which includes a high tunnel in Fairview, Mo With all the rain the weeds seem to be taking over many of the crops so is a never ending battle to keep ahead of them. The Lee family grows a variety of eggplants which range in size, shape, color and flavor, a few I have never seen before. You will find them at the Market every Saturday, up to the first frost, in pavilion three stalls 116 – 118. That is if the rain stops soon, Seneca had a stream of water running through its downtown area which I am sure will get deeper if the rain continues. 

 

 

We have one more farm to check in the Joplin area before we head back north. Anderson, Missouri is a small town located on hwy 59. The Xiong family farm location makes me happy that we now have 4 wheel drive on the markets truck, which we had to use today. The farm is located down a farm lane which was badly washed out and very muddy due to all the rain. We had to stop and open a gate which is in place to keep in the cows, drive through the field and through another gate to reach the farm.  Nhia and his son showed us through the fields pointing out many unique items they sell to various ethnic shoppers at the market. Some are used in salads, stir-fry’s, and for seasoning; many of which are very bitter and definitely an acquired taste. The purple peas and a thistle cherry tomato where very beautiful, the tomato tasted more like a fruit; we could not place the taste but loved them. I think you would need hazardous pay to pick these; the thorns are a little scary. Nhia told me they are not planning to bring these to the Market since they are difficult to pick and they don’t think anyone would buy them. A few new things I noticed this year was a new high tunnel and peach trees, Nhia hopes to be selling a few peaches next year but has to learn more about the best way to increase his yield and have a quality peach. Nhia is always looking for a new item to introduce to his customers or to provide them with item-s they had available in their homeland. The Xiong’s are at the Market every Saturday in pavilion two stalls 84-86. 

 

Last stop for the day is in Carthage, Mo right off hwy 71 near Joplin. Craig and Kendra Hansen have been selling their elephant garlic at the market for a few years now. The first time I visited their farm the garlic was in the field and had not yet been harvested. I was happy to see that they had harvested the garlic and had it in their barn drying on racks. Craig cleans the garlic and places it on racks to dry. Today he had fans blowing on the racks to insure the humidity does not damage the cloves. I was amazed to learn that Craig had planted 10, 000 garlic bulbs this year. Craig is trying his hand at growing artichokes and hopes to possibly have a few for next season. Artichokes are part of the thistle family and are harvested before they bloom. One of the plants had bloomed and was beautiful, who knew. In addition to their wonderful garlic, the Hansen’s also will be bringing wild blackberries to the market. Craig told me he will have 120# of garlic to sell on Saturday. You will find Hill Side Farm in pavilion two stall 92 as long as he has garlic to sell.

We finally made it back to Kansas City at 8:30 p.m. after driving 506 miles. We really broke the new truck in and even had to use the 4 wheel drive to get out Nhia’s drive, the truck was a muddy mess. Southern Missouri and Oklahoma have gotten hit with so much rain over the last two weeks. A farm in Fort Scott, Kansas is reporting 26” of rain in the last three weeks. What a change from last year. There was more than one road we were on that had rushing water on either side and Deb’s alarm kept going off on her phone warning of flood watches. It was defiantly time to get to higher ground.

Next week I have a new mushroom vendor, peach orchard and a u- pick operation to visit; it should be a fun and interesting day.