Deb Connors – Farmers Market Manager

With all the rain and flooding in the area this spring I have been fretting over a few of our vendors who live near any river, stream or a flood zone. Randy Tillery and the Klassen family both live in these types of areas.

Linferd and Judith Klassen have been at the market every Saturday since April but after every heavy rain, I find myself wondering if they will be able to get down their county road safely. The Klassen family lives in Rockville, Mo which is south of Kansas City between 49 and a few large lakes. When the Corp of Engineers don’t open up the dams the water backs up the streams and into the farm fields in this area. “B” highway had been under water a few days before we visited, the water was still up to the side of the road in some places.

Country Bloom Greenhouse have been vending at the City Market since 2009. They started selling mainly bedding plants in the spring but over the last ten years they have become quit the succulent experts. (That is Judith and her daughters are) I never knew there were so many types of succulents, some blooming and others just plain interesting. The Klassen children are always on the lookout for unique repurposed items they can turn into pots for their succulents.

Their greenhouse is always a treat to visit and I always find something unusual that I just have to have for my yard. Country Bloom Greenhouse is a non-contracted vendor so their location can change from time to time. If you have trouble locating them, stop by the yellow Information Tent and we will point you in the right direction. www.countrybloomsgreenhouse.com

 

I have been keeping tabs on Randy Tillery through Walt Stephens www.stephensorchard.com a bee keeper and Saturday and Sunday vendor. Walt has beehives on Randy’s farm to help with pollination so sees him when he checks the hives. 

Randy plans to return to the Market tomorrow, June 29^th, about 3 weeks later than usual due to this year’s weather. In spite of all the heavy downpours, things were looking good when we visited his farm a couple weeks ago.  Randy should have peppers, onions, potatoes, cabbage, eggplant, carrots, kohlrabi, kale and summer squash. His field tomatoes are running behind schedule as is everyone’s. You will also have to be patient on his watermelons, but all good things are worth waiting for. 

You will find Tillery Farm at the east end of pavilion two for most of the summer. Randy will relocate his location soon to the third pavilion stalls 112-115.

You might not know this but the City Market Farmers Market has seven different categories of vendors renting space on the weekends. Farmer 100%, Farmer w/ Local Grown Supplement, Artist/ Crafter, Retail Food, Alcoholic Beverage, Concession and Vintage Sale. We usually get quite a few new applications in the spring and this year has been no exception. 

We have approved a few new Sunday vendors in the Artist Crafter category that we are excited to have join the Market. I love it when we meet an artist who make something that is unique.

Nate Evans sent us photos of his work and a link to a Welcome to KC video he made about Kansas City. I must admit I enjoyed the video so much I watched it twice.  www.nateevansproductions.com . As with all new vendors in the Artist/Crafter category we are required to visit their workshops to verify that all items sold are made by them. Most crafters work out of their kitchens, dining rooms, basements or garages, Nate had a full fledge artist studio which he designed with his dad. It was super nice. Nate is a photographer who specializes in Kansas City Photos. Nate mounts the photos on foam or wood once printed on canvas.  He is super talented and his photography is not like anything else vendors are selling at the Market. Nate will be at the market on Sunday, check the vendor map on our website to find his location.

Papa Joe’s Project Shop is another new vendor selling at the Sunday Farmers Market. Joe has a workshop in his backyard where he creates beautiful wooden plaques and signs. www.papajoesprojectshop.com Most of the plaques are military and Kansas schools and he is licensed to use certain logos. Joe also makes wooden signs that would have a place in any home. My favorite sign is “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...” Trust me this would be perfect in my office.  Joe creates designs on his computer and uses a 3D CNC machine to cut out the final design. The precision is excellent but each piece still needs to be hand sanded which takes a great deal of patience and time.  After sanding comes staining which sometimes is a trial and error until he gets it perfect. In the future Joe plans to include wooden games in his booth, as of now he does take orders for large outdoor corn toss games.

We are seeing more and more artist/crafters using technology in their creations. Kristapher Halsey is a graphic designer who uses his original designs to enhance a variety of items you use every day or those that would make a great gift. Although, this is not typically, what you see at the market each item is made by Kristapher. In our arts a craft category pre-manufactured products are permitted but must be extensively embroidered, dyed, printed, painted, or reworked by the vendor. Rivalry Graphic is a home based business in Kansas City, MO and Kristapher is a graphic designer. For a little more information visit Kristapher’s web site at www.rivalrygraphics.com

 

If you are looking for the unique, strange or fascinating plant, you might already know that David Bird is your guy. Birds Botanicals better known for their beautiful orchids have recently expanded into raising unique and a little bizarre carnivorous plants. (Makes me think of Little Shop of Horrors, Feed Me Seymour) 

For many years, David has raised orchids in one of the caves along Interstate 435. A fire and issues with the ventilation forced him to relocate all of his plants to his home, friends’ homes, employee’s homes and his greenhouse in Drexel, Missouri. Below is a picture of his cave location before the fire, it was amazing to see.

I had not visited his greenhouse in Drexel for a few years and as always was in awe of all the unique and beautiful plants. Just when I think David can’t come up with something different he proves me wrong. I find myself visiting his stalls every week just to see what is new. Birds Botanicals is located in pavilion 1 in stalls 21-23 on Saturdays and pavilion 3 stalls 123-125 on Sundays. www.birdsbotanicals.com