It felt great to get back on the road again, I haven't been able to do farm visits for a couple weeks. Of course I had to pick the hottest day of the week; the heat index hit 102 degrees on Thursday.  I really feel for the vendors when it gets this hot, it is also tuff on the fruits, vegetables and livestock.

My first stop is located about fifteen minutes from the city along I-70 in Kansas City, Kansas. Xue Vang will be coming to the Market on Sundays for the first time next week and possible on Wednesday evening. Xue leases about ½ acre of land which overlooks the highway. The market currently has five other vendors who lease land at this location. Some items such as broccoli are done for the summer but he currently had okra, lemon grass, pickles, basil, egg plant, Swiss chard, melons, kohlrabi, onions and a nice assortment of flowers to sell as bouquets.

 After leaving Kansas City, Kansas I headed towards Harrisonville, Missouri to check out Jamie Bennett’s farm. Jamie is also a new vendor at the Market and has recently decided to try his hand at farming. His family has been farming for years and own 800 acres, which includes a beautiful lake.  He is only using a small section of the farm and has opted to grow all of his plants in containers that are placed on black plastic. Jamie has chosen to use this method to help eliminate weeds and disease without the use of pesticides. I can’t wait to hear how things went for him after the season is over. I am always amazed buy the different techniques growers use.   At this time all of his plants look very healthy and are producing tomatoes, watermelons, peppers, hot peppers, green beans and cucumbers.  He has planted pumpkins and potted mums for the 2016 fall season and plans to start tomatoes in his greenhouse for the winter. I think Jamie will be a regular at the Sunday Market this year.

 

I made a really large loop on Thursday with my next stop in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. I'm visiting the farm of Ivan and Ludmila Guban. Pink Blossom Orchard has been at the City Market since 2006 and is better known as the grape, peach and apple grower.  The Guban’s grow the most beautiful and delicious table grapes which are different from those used for making wine. I always enjoy my visit to their orchard and having Ivan explain everything that goes into growing that perfect grape. They currently have 65 varieties of grapes each with a distinct taste. I do believe I tasted at least 12 varieties as I walked under the canopy of vines. Ivan is constantly grafting new varieties which can withstand the Missouri climate. This year his challenge is the extremely hot humid weather which causes the grapes to split and to ripen too soon. He has constantly battled birds and critters which he has been able to ward off with the use of large heavy nets and very scary fake snakes.   Ivan has been growing grapes his entire life, an expertise he learned from his family. When you visit Ivan at the Market you will see that he has a passion for what he does. They have recently planted dwarf apple trees which should produce a good crop by next year. They are also integrating new peach trees which they start from seed, they currently have about 500. After fifteen years peach trees start producing less fruit and Ivan wants to insure he has a good crop each year.  You'll find Pink Blossom Orchard at the market on Saturday and some Sundays during the summer in the third pavilion in stall 119.  Their crop is very sensitive to what the weather is doing so they might not be at the Market each week.

 My last stop of the day was in Liberty, Missouri. I received a new application from Faye Steiner-Woods who is a leather artist. Faye has been busy showing her items at local craft shows but wanted to give the City Market a try since she is at the Market as a customer most weekends. Faye cuts all of her leather by hand and hand dyes all the leather for the belts that she makes. Her best sellers are her wallets which come in various styles. Faye also makes leather drink wear, key chains, leashes, made to order belts, luggage tags, work aprons, chalk boards and wood crates with leather handles. Red Hare Leather should start attending the City Market on Sundays and possible Wednesday evenings starting next week. For additional information visit her website at www.redhareleather.com

Next week, if all goes well, I should be heading to the Jefferson City/Columbia area to visit a few farms and will end up near home to verify a new artist/crafter vendor. With all this rain and sun produce is really coming in heavy; don’t miss out on the bounty of the summers!