I really dodged some rain drops today and ended up having beautiful weather. I hope the few dry days have helped to dry the farm fields out a little before we get hit with the next long stretch of rain. I feel bad for the farms located north of Kansas City; they got blasted this morning once again.

Today is pretty interesting. I am starting off by visiting a new vendor who grows peaches, plums, apples, cherries and pears. Before the day is over I will have visited vendors who sell buffalo, lavender and mushrooms, what a diverse group of vendors.

My first stop is in Cleveland, MO at Tubby Fruits Peach Orchard. I forgot to ask Mark Angermayer how their orchard got its name. I met Mark in the orchard where we looked at a wide variety of peach trees. Mark has done a lot of trial and error since he started growing peaches in 2004 behind his home. He has since expanded into a second location and has approximately 400 peach trees between both locations. Many of these trees Mark has started from grafting from other trees. Mark was pretty disappointed with the quality of peach from an early variety he had tried. The peaches are ready to pick this week and are supper juicy but they are not as sweet as Mark would like them to be so has opted not to sell them. Luckily the next variety should be ready in the next few weeks. Mark has chosen different varieties so he should have peaches early July through October In addition to peaches Mark also grows pears, pie cherries, blackberries, plums, a few varieties of apples and tomatoes. Mark will be selling at the City Market on Sundays throughout the summer and early fall.

Since I was so close to Belton I drove by KC Buffalo. Some of the heard were lounging in the field near the road so I was able to stop and snap a few pictures. Peter Kohl has been a vendor at the City Market for years selling various cuts of meats, summer sausage and buffalo jerky. In addition to selling at the City Market year round on Saturdays Peter and his wife Susan also have a small store on their property and their products are carried in some local stores as well. For more information visit their web site at www.kcbuffalo.com

  

I had today marked on my calendar so I wouldn’t forget to visit Washington Creek Lavender in Lawrence Kansas when the lavender was in full bloom. I was so sad when I pulled up to John and Kathy’s driveway and saw a sign that the farm was closed due to flooding. I tried to give them a call to see if they thought it would be damaging the plants but I was in a dead zone and did not have phone service.  I visited their web site and got my answer all is not yet loss. The Wilson's sell their wonderful products at the Saturday Market as long as the weather is dry. Their product does not do well when it gets wet. For more information visit their web site at www.washingtoncreeklavender.com

We have another vendor who is in the Lawrence area so I headed to Wakarusa Valley Farm which is located fairly close to Washington Creek. I am guessing they named their farm after the Wakarusa River that runs through this area. I caught them at a bad time since Mark Lumpe was off the farm delivering CSA shares and Connor, who is the face you see at the City Market on Saturdays, was loaded up and heading out as well. Connor pointed me in the right direction and told me to just stay as long as I wanted. I roamed around but opted not to go in the greenhouses where they grow mushrooms since Mark was not there. I did see strawberry plants, tomatoes in the greenhouse and some fruit trees which Connor said are about 30 years old.  I walked through these areas last November and also plan to make an appointment with them to visit their new mushroom location in one of the caves in Kansas City. While I was on the road I received a call from Mark telling me they have not been able to get their vegetable plants in due to all the rain and will probably not be at the Market for awhile since the mushroom production has also slowed down. The weather is really messing things up for so many of our vendors. If you would like to learn more about Wakarusa Valley Farm visit their web site at www.wakarusavalleyfarm.com

Blueberries and Peaches have started showing up at the Market. The Peaches are from Troy, Tennessee (475 miles) and the blueberries are from southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Next week I am heading north to visit a few new vendors and some of our contracted vendors in the area. I am hoping for a beautiful sunny dry day and no washed out roads.