I think I was stalling a little today before heading out on the road, it was super hot and humid and of course I waited till the heat of the day. I wanted to visit a couple vendors today who had moved to new farms over the winter; both had increased the size of their farm.

Since it was hot and in the afternoon when I finally arrived at the Vang’s Farm I interrupted everyone’s break, they had been working in the fields since early morning. The Vang family had recently bought a 108 acre farm in Leavenworth, Kansas which really expands the amount of produce and flowers they are able to grow. When they started vending at the City Market in 2002 their original farm was shared by Lue and his brother and consisted of five acres, what a big change. Lue’s daughter gave me the grand tour; thank goodness they had a golf cart. A large part of their market stalls consist of cut flower bouquets which vary depending on the time of year. The list of produce they grow is way to long to list in my blog but ranges from basil to zucchini.  Since they don’t have any kind of irrigation they were certainly hoping for some rain over the next few days, I hope they did not get hit with the crazy hail some areas received last night. The Vang’s mainly bring produce to the market which is grown by them but they will sometimes supplement a few items from the Central Missouri Produce Auction located in Fortuna, MO. Vang Farm is at the City Market every Saturday and Sunday through October sometimes longer depending on how early we get a heavy frost. You will find them in pavilion two, stalls 66-67 and pavilion three, stalls 121-122 on Saturday. Sundays they are in pavilion two in stalls 76, 77 & 83.

Before heading back to Missouri I stopped by Kao Chang’s farm in Kansas City, KS. She has recently relocated to Kansas City from Arkansas and is using a relative’s property until she established her own farm in Basehor. Kao had been farming for the past ten years and grows and assortment of vegetables and cut flowers. Kao will be selling at our Wednesday market which takes place now through August 2 p.m. till 6 p.m.

After making a loop around 435 I arrive at Dang’s Garden and realize I had been at this farm before. Come to find out it once belonged to a relative of Tang and Chersue Chang. They have recently taken over the property and Chersue and her daughters Dang and Zabeth have really taken the property to the next level. Chersue has to keep an eye on her husband who does all the trimming and mowing since he has a tendency to get a little carried away and all of a sudden some plants are missing, I feel her pain!  Last year they received a grant and constructed a high tunnel and are now searching for a grant that will help with the cost of putting in a well, I think they are in this for the long haul. Cut flowers are a big part of their stall at the City Market and they have such a great variety of plants which bloom at different times throughout the spring and summer. They have even planted lilies in their pond and wade out in the water to harvest them. I could not believe the amount of Dahlias and sunflowers they have planted, what a lot of work. In addition to flowers they also grow a variety of vegetables and herbs.  Dang’s Garden is at the market every Sunday in pavilion three stalls 118-119.

Next week Sarah and I are hitting the road early and heading to Seneca, Anderson, Carthage and Joplin Missouri. If all goes well we are hoping to also visit Clayborn Farms in Fort Scott, Kansas on the way home. Should be a fun day and I am so glad I will have some company.