What a beautiful day to be on the road. Once again I am spending the day visiting new vendors who will be selling at the Sunday and Wednesday evening farmers’ market.

My first stop today is at an urban farm located in Kansas City, Missouri. Danielle and Dennis are owners of the Lovely Day Farm and are currently working on getting their organic certification for their 2.5 acre farm. Like most farms theirs is a work in progress and is constantly changing. Danielle explained what they are currently working on and what they hope to accomplish down the road. This month they will be bringing carrots, Swiss chard, eggs, lettuce, kale and spinach to the market. Hopefully in the near future they will also be selling chickens which have been processed in a USDA plant. Lovely Day Farm will be selling at the Sunday and Wednesday evening market, for more information visit them on Facebook. 

I really do not know what to expect when I get to Midwest Nursery Cooperative located in Urich, Missouri. It turns out that Tom Trzebcatowski is an expert of sorts when it comes to magnolia trees. Tom has been propagating magnolia trees at Powell Gardens since 2006 and has continued to do this at his home. He has 1.4 acre to work with and uses every inch of that. I was amazed to learn that there are approximately 300 varieties of Magnolias and Tom has around 200 of these at his house. In addition to magnolias Tom also grows oak, maple, chestnut and dogwood trees, I am sure I am missing one or two on this list. Tom will be at the Market on Sunday and will be able to tell you everything you ever wanted to know when it comes to magnolia.

Back to Kansas City to visit with Allison Daniels who is starting up her new business called Dazzling Doors. Allison makes the cutest wreaths for every occasion and sports team. These wreaths are perfect for hanging on your front door and each is unique. For those baseball fans, Allison also makes bracelets out of baseballs. Allison will be selling at the Sunday Market and the Wednesday evening Market which will start at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11^th.

Next week I will be visiting a few greenhouses in the area and on the 19^th I plan to head south to Joplin, Missouri. My Joplin trip is usually my longest day when visiting farms so Deb Churchill, Property Manager for the City Market, will go along to keep me company.

If you plan to visit the City Market this weekend take advantage of the streetcar and park downtown.  For more information visit www.kcstreetcar.org