When I started out today I thought for sure I would be soaked and a muddy mess by the end of the day. But luckily the rain stopped shortly after I left the office. I traveled in a pretty large loop this week hitting Gladstone, Westphalia, KS and Kansas City, KS on the way back.

 

I was excited to start my day out by visiting a new Artist Crafter vendor, Linda Morrison. Linda is a retired home re-modeler who now makes acoustic and electric cigar box guitars and ukuleles, how cool is that! She has been doing this for the past 3 years and even teaches a class for local children on how to build their own. When I arrived she played a little tune for me on an electric variety and it sounded great. Linda explained that the sound will vary depending on the type and size of the cigar box. She makes them with either a slide or fretted depending on the musicians’ preference. We went to her workshop and saw a guitar she is currently working on and her stash of cigar boxes which she gets from a local cigar store. They are truly a work of love; Linda admitted she has a little trouble selling them since each one is so special to her. The guitars range from $175.00 to $210.00. Linda will be selling at the Sunday farmers market off and on throughout the year.

 By the time I left Gladstone the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking out. It takes about two hours to get to Westphalia, KS from Kansas City. Westphalia is south of KC off of I-35. My timing was perfect, as I pulled in the Heck’s driveway Ashton was just finishing his lunch and had time to give me a look at their fields. The Heck family’s main crop is sweet corn but they also raise melons to bring to the Market. The green house tomatoes they raise are sold closer to home so never make it to the City Market. A few hours before I arrived they had a storm go through which provided a little rain but the winds did a number on the corn, the stalks had a little lean going on but Ashton said they would straighten back up. The Heck’s grow 3 varieties of corn on 45 acres and bring corn to the City Market for most of the summer. You will be happy to know their corn is tasseling and should we ready in about two weeks, I can’t wait. You will find the Heck family at the Market on Saturdays on the east end of all three covered farmer sheds, stalls 41, 52 and 143.

My last stop for the day is at Juniper Gardens in Kansas City, Kansas. Juniper Gardens is operated by Catholic Charities and is their location for the New Roots for Refugees program. New Roots for Refugees help refugee women start their own small farm business growing and selling vegetables. These women come to the United States with significant agricultural experience and this program gives them the help they need to get started. The facility currently has 8 acres which is divided up among 17 farmers; each farmer gets a ¼ acre plot. The facility is equipped with a large cooler which is divided up among each farmer. They also have a wonderful wash area where all the vegetables can be washed before bringing them to the Market. The plots I visited today belong to Hai Li Mar and Sa Je Dar who are both from Burma and Oma Dar and Mee Nge.  All the plots looked beautiful and were full of cabbage, greens, garlic, onions and herbs. All four new vendors will be setting up at the market on Sunday and I am sure they will continue to do so throughout the summer.

Not sure where I will head next week but I plan to head down to the Joplin area on the 19^th. The Joplin trip is always a long day so I usually take Deb Churchill, the Property Manager for the Market with me. It helps to have someone to talk to on a long trip.