It is the end of September and officially fall and I have yet to visit all the City Market vendors this year. So far this year I have traveled 4,151 miles and have checked 56 vendors farms or workshops. Much of this year has been spent visiting new vendors who sell during the Sunday farmers market. 

Last week I once again stayed in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Although the City Market allows vendors to participate in the farmers market from within a 500 mile radius of Kansas City many of our vendors farm and live just across the state line. Most of the vendor I visited on the 15^th sell cut flower bouquets so I thoroughly enjoyed myself while walking through the rows of dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, gladiolas and cockscombs.

See Vang and Nao Thue Thao have the tallest dahlias I have ever seen, See explained that she plants a special variety which is better suited to our weather. As we walked through the rows See was constantly clipping flowers to send back to the office with me, what a wonderful treat. I was fretting about getting them back safely. In addition to flowers See also grows eggplant, banana peppers, mustard greens, lemon grass and bok choy.  You will find See and her family at the Market most Saturdays and Sundays April through October. Saturday pavilion 3 stall 135 and 136 and Sundays Pavilion two stall 82.

I was barley back in the truck and I had arrived at Cha Vang’s. Cha farms this large plot of land with his son Chenou Vang and the rest of his family. I was amazed how his farm had expanded since my first visit a few years ago. Everyone was busy when I arrived so I wondered through the rows on my own. I love the trellises they make out of sticks to support the bitter melons, they are quite beautiful. Cha had rows of Moonshadow hyacinth beans which were climbing along wire suppor. I always thought they were poisonous to eat but apparently if you eat the pod when it is small and tender it is okay but as the pod gets older and the bean starts to dry it could be poisonous. I have one of these plants at home as an ornamental, it is very pretty and grows quickly. Cha also grows cut flowers, his gladiolas were beautiful. Chenou Produce is at the Market every Saturday and Sunday April through October. You will find them in the third pavilion in stalls 123-125 on Saturdays and in Pavilion two in stalls 76, 77 & 83 on Sundays.

My last stop for this day was at the home of Alissa Pang Her and Chao Her. They farm in the area located behind their home on a pretty steep slope. No one was home so I walked through only a portion of their back yard. I am always fascinated by the bamboo that is growing along the side of their yard; it spreads every year I am there. They still had okra to harvest, kale and eggplant along with zinnias and cock combs. Alissa Pang Her is at the Market most Saturdays during the summer and occasionally on Sunday.