City Market - Farmers' Market Vendors

The rain has finally stopped so I feel better about heading north of I -70. It is a little steamy today but I am not going to complain. I am heading up to Hale, MO for my first stop, never a really direct way to get there so I always opt to head up I-35 to 36 Hwy. Once I head south on 65 the road goes past a lake, from the looks of things if I would have come to Hale last week the water would have been up to the road.

Joe and Juby Bryson have been farming for years and now with the help of their family they have increased their farm by 30 acres. Joe was off with his son when I arrived so Pat showed me around the farm. In addition to having five greenhouse for planting and two for starting plants they also have a walk in cooler. Having a cooler is super important so you are able to drop the temperature of fruits and vegetables after you harvest them. The cooler was full of pie cherries, peaches which are part of their supplement product and come from Arkansas, green peas which were just picked yesterday, kalarabi and cabbage. When I arrived they were busy picking tomatoes from their greenhouse, they were even picking cherry tomatoes. It was a little steamy inside, perfect for tomatoes, not so much for people. They had another greenhouse where they were growing green beans. The plants were doing very well and producing a lot of beans. The third greenhouse was used for planting early squash such as zucchini, these plants were almost done and others had been planted in the fields. We strolled down each row of cabbage, kohlrabi, garlic, onions, broccoli, Swiss chard and squash. The additional 30 acres had been planted but things had to come to a halt with all the rain they have had so they have plants in one of the greenhouses just waiting to be transplanted. The new field had potatoes (Yukon gold, fingerlings, blue and red) Beets, bell peppers, purple hull peas, beets, sweet potatoes, turnips and squash. I was amazed when I saw their blackberry bushes, in years past the weeds were so high you could not tell what they were. Someone had really been working hard. In addition to blackberries they also have gooseberries, blueberries and mulberries. The Bryson’s have planted blueberries, gooseberries and rhubarb in big plastic tubs, I was so surprised to see how well the plants were doing and how much fruit was being produced. Bryson’s Farm Fresh Produce is at the Market every Saturday and Sunday and are in the Farm w/ Local Grown Supplement category so they can supplement up to 50 % of the produce they bring to the City Market. For additional information visit their web site at www.brysonsfarm.com

I left Hale and drove west to Brunswick which is about a 40 minute drive and has a population of 859. Brad and Allison McGill are new vendors that will soon be selling at the Sunday Market. Brad was not at home when I arrived but told me to take a look around; their yellow lab kept me company. Behind their home they have a section cleared out with produce planted. The hill was pretty steep and wet so I did not take a chance getting closer. Behind their barn Brad had a greenhouse filled with tomatoes that were doing very well. Hazel Hill Hobby Farm is also in the Farmer w/ Local Grown Supplement category.

Back on the road I got on 24 Hwy towards Lexington, Mo, I have two farms to visit that are right across the highway from each other. Fahrmeier Farms has added a new road side you pick operation in addition to the family farm about a mile off of 24 hwy. I found Bret and Loren Fahrmeier in their blackberry patch visiting with Bill Hanks, another vendor at the Market. The berries look great and will be ready to bring to the Market this weekend. I had to try a few why we visited. The road side operation has strawberries (finished for this year), blackberries, and will have pumpkins and a corn maze in the fall. They use their store for their CSA members to pick up their produce for the week and also have a selection of fresh produce available. The location is easy to get to and not far from Kansas City, it makes a great day trip. I have one more farm to visit today and it is getting late, I will visit the family farm another time. www.fahrmeierfarms.com

I jump in the truck and drive across 24 highway to Beckner’s Orchard. The Beckner’s have been providing some of the City Market vendors with peaches and asparagus for years. In addition to 90 acres of peach trees they also grow a wide assortment of vegetables to sell at area farmer markets. Jared drove me through all the fields for the grand tour. They had a crew of 15 sorting the peaches they had picked that day and thinning out the peach trees. Jared prefers to thin out the peaches after they start producing fruit, if this is not done the branches get too heavy and the peaches will be very small. This year they expect to have the best crop they have ever had and the season runs from June through Labor Day. The orchard consist of 30 varieties of peaches, they also have nectarines, plums, pears and apples. We drove along the corn field where they had corn planted in various stages so they will be able to have corn throughout the summer. Jeff and Kelly Beckner will bring a nice variety of produce and fruit to the Market on Sundays starting this week. I also got a chance to visit with Mrs. Beckner, their very sweet grandmother.