This morning I headed to Farley and Platt City, Missouri, I lost track of time when I got in the office so got a much later start than I had planned. I decided to stop at Rivers Edge Produce first which has a Platt City address but is near Farley. Gary just so happened to be at the green house when I arrived so let me peek inside; the greenhouse contains 1,280 tomato plants. This particular greenhouse has a vent at the top and has sides that can open to help control the temperature and to allow pollination; they have quit the setup. Earlier in the season, the Oberdiek’s sold wonderful strawberries grown on their farm but right now they mainly have tomatoes. I am so happy we have so many farmers who grow greenhouse tomatoes so I can continue to get my tomato fix into fall. After checking out the greenhouse, Gary showed me their field of tuberose, which should be ready to bring to the Market in late August or September. This is their first year to grow these if you are not familiar with tuberoses they are a Mexican bulbous herb of the agave family cultivated for its spike of fragrant white single or double flowers. I cannot wait until they bring them to the Market, the farmer pavilion will smell amazing. They have had numerous issues with the rain but hope to have peppers ready to harvest very soon. Rivers Edge Produce is at the City Market on Saturday and Sundays and also sells at the Parkville Market on Saturdays.

I always leave my visit with Loyd and Addie Horn to the end of the day since I always have a nice visit and usually end up leaving much later than I had planned. Loyd and Addie have been vending at the City Market since 2005 and have two stalls for Loyd’s produce and one stall for Addie’s wonderful baked goods; I am hooked on her pies.  Loyd has been downsizing his fields since I first visited him in 2005 but stills grows plenty of produce to bring to the Market and to donate to his church. Personally, I am a fan of the Juliette tomatoes Loyd grows; they are bigger than a cherry tomato and smaller than a Roma. I like the flavor since they are field tomatoes and they keep much longer than a cherry tomato so I always have a bowl on my counter. In addition to field tomatoes, Dry Lake Farm also grows potatoes, onions, assorted bell peppers, banana peppers, eggplant, okra, sweet potatoes, zucchini and cantaloupe. Since I am a little late visiting this year his cabbage, asparagus and black raspberries are finished for the year. You will find Loyd and Addie Horn in the third pavilion, which is located on the north side of the market in stalls 126-128.