What a surprise I had today, the first Thursday in weeks without rain. I had to swap my rain boots for sunscreen. Since produce was so late getting planted this spring I am still concentrating on checking vendors who grow assorted flowering plants. A few weeks ago I received a new application from Gene and Penny Stormann from Topeka Kansas, so this is where I headed this morning. The Stormann’s specialty is daylilies, an astonishing 800 plus varieties. “Deception at Night”, “Static Shock”, “Journey to Oz” and everything in between. As I walked between the 15 beds dotted with tags listing each variety I kept thinking how much time went in to making all these tags. If I am in the area this summer I will have to stop to see the daylilies when they are in full bloom, I am sure it is a sight to see. Pleasant Hill Daylilies will be at the Market on Sunday’s, they sell at the Topeka farmers Market on Saturdays. For those of you interested in purchasing daylilies from Gene and Penny you will be glad to know that they have been certified by the Kansas Department of Agriculture Plant Protection Program, the inspector found the plants to be free from harmful plant pests, good to know.

For those of you who were at the Market last weekend you might have seen Washington Creek Lavender’s stall. John and Kathy Wilson, from Lawrence, have sold at the City Market for a couple years and have recently taken the plunge to give up their day jobs and start an Agra- Tourism Business. I found them busy working on their new barn which will house a store and a much larger drying area. John gave me a tour explaining where everything would be, the crowning touch of this new addition was the solar panel which will operate all the new 10 watt LED overhead lights which are very green and will save the Wilsons some money on their electric bill. Another new addition since I visited last year was a new hoop house which is used for raising plant starts. John was a little embarrassed because they have not had a chance to weed around the plants this week, all I saw was beautiful lavender plants. Last year’s drought really took a toll on some of their younger plants, which will need to be replanted this year. They currently have 7000 plants which vary in size depending on when they were planted. The Wilson’s have a new area ready for planting an additional 1000 new plants. They hope to have a grand opening in the near future for everyone to come out, enjoy the view and buy some wonderful, fragrant lavender products. I will keep you posted. www.lavender@washingtoncreeklavender.com

I had a little time left before I got back to the Market so I stopped by Sai Lee’s since it was on my way. Sai Lee has a large garden behind her home in Kansas City, Kansas and has been a City Market vendor for a few years. When I visit the vendors farms in KCKS I am always amazed how large their lots are behind their homes, they just go on and on. Although produce is way behind schedule this year Sai had quite a bit of lettuce and spinach ready to harvest for the Market this coming Saturday. She also had cilantro and onions that she will pick in the morning. Sai Lee is at the market most Saturday’s and Sunday’s.

Next week I will head south to check a few new vendors and a couple that are not so new. If you haven’t shopped for bedding plants or plants for your garden you will want to shop the Market this weekend. There will be a wonderful selection; I am sure the best selection anywhere in town. You will also find some really nice greens, lettuce, spring onions, greenhouse tomatoes and asparagus. 

I bit the bullet today and headed out even with rain in the forecast. I am really behind on my farm visits this spring. It seems like every Thursday it has been raining or crazy cold. Thank goodness it looks like we will have a nice weekend for Mothers Day. I think most of the Market’s 175 stalls will be filled this coming Saturday with a huge selection of bedding plants, hanging baskets, cut flowers and beautiful craft items. I am sure there will be something that any mother would love to receive on her special day. For those of you looking for something fun to do on Sunday, bring mom to the Market for lunch, to browse through the Community Yard Sale, shop the Farmers’ Market or visit one of the Markets unique shops.

Today I thought I would head south east to the Versailles area to check a few greenhouses. I originally had planned to visit Bob Lorance; you all might know him as the European cucumber guy. Bob has been a vendor at the Market for many years and raises his cucumbers hydroponically. (The cultivation of plants in a nutrient liquid with or without gravel or another supporting medium) I gave him a call when I got to Sedalia to see if he would be home( Bob is from Stover, MO)  only to discover Bob has decided to take a year off from the Market and switch over to growing green beans. He plans to return in 2014; Bob will be missed this year. 

Luckily Versailles is just a little east of Stover so was not out of my way at all. I had a new Sunday vendor to check whose road side stand and greenhouses were located on Hwy 52, I wish all the farms were this easy to find. Chris Pifer is a vendor at the Columbia Farmers Market on Saturdays and has been looking for a way to expand his business. The City Market, Sunday farmers’ market is the perfect way to do this. Chris specializes in very large hanging baskets. He starts them very early in his greenhouses with seeds or plugs. They were beautiful. His greenhouses were bulging with a wide variety of plants, herbs and ferns. The last greenhouse we went into was full of the largest tomato plants I have ever seen, the stalks were huge. It reminded me of Jack and the Beanstalk. Each plant had a cord that ran along the vine to the ceiling of the greenhouse and were secured with clips; this helped to support the massive vines which where weighted down with large vine ripe tomatoes. Chris had just finish picking before I arrived, it was a sight to see. All five of his greenhouses are heated by burning saw dust, which is very efficient, very green and saves him a lot of money compared to propane. Many of the farmers are getting away from using propane to heat their greenhouse; it’s a good thing.  If all goes well you will see Hwy 52 Family Greenhouse at the market in the near future.

      

Ten minutes down the road and I arrive at the Busy Bee road side stand/greenhouse. Busy Bee is owned and operated by Daryl and Diane Unruh also located on hwy 52 in Versailles. This location is strictly a retail space, their main greenhouses are on their farm a few miles away. Diane was busy getting an order together which was to be picked up a little earlier than expected so I just showed myself around.  Darryl also heats his two greenhouses with wood. In addition to bedding and vegetable plants Daryl will be bringing mums, straw, fall decorative corn and pumpkins to the Market in the fall. I was thrilled to see a hummingbird in their greenhouse; they are attracted to all the flowers. I am sure Diane was thinking “what’s the big deal” since they see this all the time. I just kept trying to get a picture.

I ran out of time today since it took me 2 ½ hours just to get to the first farm so I will just check one more location today. Mark and Esther Zimmerman have been waiting list vendors since I started at the Market. Zimmerman’s Farm Market is located at their home on E hwy just down the road from the Central Missouri Produce Action. You might remember I visited the action last September. Mark has five greenhouses filled with bedding plants, handing baskets and one dedicated to growing tomatoes. This tomato house is setup similar to the Pifers. All the plants are in the ground protected from the elements. Mark will be bringing tomatoes to the Market this coming Saturday. Unlike some of our vendors Mark has been able to get his crops in the fields. The covered rows you see in the pictures are being used to protect the delicate new early corn crop. The strawberry plants were flowering so strawberries are not far behind. Onions and broccoli were ready and all the other plants were just getting started. Mark and Diane were not at home but told me to just show myself around, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. It was wonderful just to walk through the fields. I love living in the city but it is always nice to get in the rural areas every week.

 

Next week I need to head to Topeka, Kansas to check a new Sunday vendor. I am hoping for a dry sunny day where I don’t need to wear my boots. Thank goodness I had them today it was very sloppy everywhere I went.

What is up with this weather? Talk about a total change from last spring.

Normally on Friday's the City Market phones are ringing off the hook with vendors calling to tell me they will be using their stalls on Saturday and Sunday. Today the phones have been ringing but only so the vendors can cancel for Saturday. The overnight temperatures will be to low for the vendors selling bedding plants to load their trucks on Friday night and the early morning temperatures will harm the plants when they are unloaded in the morning. Last Saturday vendors arrived at the market at 5:00 a.m., left their trucks loaded until it warmed up a little and went and ate breakfast, this is just not the norm. I received a call from a vendor this morning who had three inches of snow on the ground with trees and power lines down. Just unbelievable.

Many of the  vendors who sell craft items have also canceled for Saturday because they cannot risk having their items get wet. I can never remember a spring that has been this rainy and cold every Saturday.

I did manage to check one new vendor this week. Rachelle and Isaac Clark are from Liberty, Missouri and will be setting up at the Sunday farmers' market in a few weeks. Rachelle is a stay at home mom who is just starting her home business. She will be making a variety of children's items such as binkie buddies, unique personalized baby cloths and blankets. The Sunday market is a great starting point for new vendors just getting started. 

I am keeping my fingers crossed that next weekend will be sunny, warm and beautiful.I hope to get to Versailles, Missouri on Thursday. That was the plan for this week but it was just too rainy and cold.

I had to skip farm visits last week due to the rain. The City Market truck is a little scary on wet roads and does not have working defrosters so better to skip a week. The Market is looking for a sponsor for a new truck so if anyone knows of a business looking to get their logo out there this might be the perfect opportunity.

 
What a beautiful day to visit farms, it finally felt like spring today. I had two vendors to visit in Edgerton, Kansas so made that my first stop. I met Frank and Melanie Gieringer at the Great Plains Grower Conference in St. Joe, MO in January and was thrilled to hear their farm was so close to Kansas City. Today I found them busy at work covering a new high tunnel they recently received through a grant. This will make their sixth tunnel which they use mainly for growing tomatoes, European cucumbers and sweet peppers.  High tunnels are great for growing tomatoes. You can put the plants in the ground, roll up the sides and have the plants protected from the elements. High tunnel tomatoes taste wonderful and make it possible to have fresh local tomatoes available much earlier. The Gieringer’s have approximately 1000 peach trees which were just starting to bloom and were beautiful. Melanie told me about every two or three years they plant an additional 200 new trees just in case they lose some to a late freeze or some weather related disease. In addition to peaches they have one acre of strawberries, 16,000 plants, oh my! Today the entire field was covered to prevent the plants from freezing. We took a peak under the cover and the blooms were still white so all should be good. If the weather remains warm they hope to have strawberries by Mothers Day, if not by the end of May. I can’t wait, we have seen a few years in a row that have been tough for strawberries. Let’s hope we see a bumper crop this year. If you like to pick your own strawberries Gieringer Orchard gives you that option. For more information visit their web site at www.gieringerorchard.com

 

The next vendor just lives one mile down the road so I did not even need my GPS. I wish all the farms could be this close. Enright Gardens is one of the City Markets larger greenhouse vendors with 13 greenhouses and one high tunnel.  The green houses were bursting at the seams with beautiful flowers just waiting for the weather to warm up. I am sure I took way to many pictures today but I just could not help myself. A few years ago the Enright’s started grafting tomato plants and have dedicated one high tunnel for this purpose. The plants looked great and a few of them even had green tomatoes on them. I can’t wait to have a BLT once fresh tomatoes start showing up at the market. Sue and Bo Enright are at the market every Saturday, and maybe a few Sunday’s, now through June. You will find them on the east end of the second farmers’ pavilion in stalls 48-51. If you are looking for the perfect place to have a wedding or celebrate a special day Enright Gardens has the place. They have renovated a large building on their property which can be rented for receptions.  Next to the reception hall they have a beautiful garden, the perfect place for a wedding. For more information visit their web site at www.enrightgardens.com

This is the perfect day to visit greenhouses. It is so nice to see some color. I love visiting The Flower Farm; Keith Johnson has so many unique plants you just feel like you have been transported to a different place. The bougainvilleas were in full bloom and covered the ceiling of the main greenhouse. I am sure the pictures I took will not do them justice. Keith and Roberta have about nine greenhouses, four of which are attached to one another. I always like going into the house that is filled with tropical plants, succulents and cactus. I just need to make sure I watch the time because the overhead sprinklers go off every six minutes, I have gotten wet in the past. This year I have noticed a new petunia that always catches my eye, it is black with a bright yellow center, really different from the pastels you usually see. Keith is at the Market every Saturday through July in stalls 69-71 located on the west end of pavilion two. If you would like more information about The Flower Farm visit their website at www.theflowerfarmgardner.com

I had to lose my muddy boots before I got to my last stop for the day since I stopped by to see one of the Markets very talented artist/crafter vendors. Theresa Sullivan designs the most beautiful dried flower arrangements you have ever seen. Her new work shop, which she shares with her husband Jim, is located in a recently purchased home in Merriam, Kansas. The lower level is filled with Teresa’s creations. She has one area used for drying the flowers, another for any spray painting she needs to do and a room with a large work table where she designs the arrangements. Theresa has been at the Market almost every Saturday since the first of the year and will usually be located on the east side of the Market.

Vendors have been very busy calling in this week so we should have a wonderful selection of bedding plants, early spring greens, bakery items, free range meats, farm fresh eggs and beautiful craft items. The City Market is the place to be this weekend!

It is that time of year again to start visiting the vendors to verify that they are growing or making what they are bringing to the market if they are in the farmer 100% category.  Or at least 50% of what they bring to the market each day if they are in the farmer with local supplement category. All produce sold at the City Market must be harvested within a 500 mile radius of the market. I also visit the crafters at their workshops/homes to make sure they make the items they sell at the market.

I actually started visiting a few new vendors a few weeks ago but was unable to post it on my blog.  I was trying to change the look of the blog and archive last year’s information and messed it up. I am a little computer challenged at times.

Over the last few weeks I visited two new vendors in the artist crafter category. Belinda Riley is a retired art teacher in the Park Hill school district. She is one of the lucky artists that actually have a studio in her home. Belinda makes her own clay molds and creates wonderful pieces. Her newest creations are clay fruit which are fired and glazed, they are beautiful. Belinda also free styles the clay and can make a custom sculpture of your pet. For more information or to order a custom sculpture, visit Belinda’s website at www.customsculpturebybelinda.com .

                 

The next new vendor will be at the market on Sunday’s only. P. Jeanine Smith, Home Grown Art Gallery, hand paints lamps, picture frames, wooden boxes and vases. No two designs are alike. In addition to embellishing items Jeanine also does original paintings on canvas. Her art work has taken over her home so she definitely needs to get to the Market soon. For more information visit her website at www.homegrownartgallery.net

               

Last Thursday I stayed very close to the Market and checked two new possible vendors who had recently submitted applications for the Sunday Market.  Jennifer Lowe lives in Kansas City and grows English roses in raised beds in her back yard. She also wanted to sell bedding plants but this will not be an option this year since there were no plants even started. The greenhouse vendors who sell at the market start all the plants by seed or with plant plugs during the winter. Once the plants get large enough they transplant the plants into bigger pots. By this time of year the green houses are bursting at the seams with plants ready to bring to the Market.

Brenda Rogers grows lavender in Independence, Mo. She has about 80 mature plants in the field. Brenda harvested and dried the lavender last year and will be selling items made from that crop. Her booth will include lavender sachets, lavender by the ounce, dried bundles and arrangements.

Today had to be one of the coldest days I have ever checked farms. I made sure to only check nice warm greenhouses and a bakery today. The farmers’ market is made-up of mostly contracted vendors and a few waiting list vendors. The waiting list vendors rent the stalls that a contracted vendor chooses not to use that day. I try to check all the contracted and waiting list vendors at least once per year. All new vendors must be inspected prior to renting a stall for the first time. The first farm on my list today is a nice warm greenhouse in St Joseph,  MO. Randy Kahler has been a vendor at the Market for at least thirteen years. He had contracted stalls most of that time but has opted to be a waiting list vendor since he does not have enough plants to sell the required 12 times per year. He operates out of two greenhouses located behind his home. In addition to selling at the City Market Randy also has a roadside stand in his front yard. Randy was not home when I arrived but told me to feel free to show myself around. The greenhouses were so much warmer than the outside temperature my glasses and the camera lenses kept fogged up.  I love walking through the greenhouses this time of year. Everything outside is so gray and gloomy; it is great to see all the beautiful flowers in full bloom. Randy was at the market for the first time this year on April 6^th, due to the extreme low overnight temperatures on Friday night he will not be able to take his plants out of the greenhouse, the extreme temperature change will shock them. Hopefully the weather will improve by next Saturday.

          

Only a short drive south east of St. Joe and I am in Stewartsville. For those of you who have never been to Stewartsville it is south of highway 36. This is where the wonderful Bread of Life Breads are made. Kathy Crowther and her family make the organic bakery items. If you are familiar with their stall you probably know Amanda and Bethany, they are the faces of Bread of Life at the City Market. When I arrived they were just finishing baking for the day and the smell was unbelievable. They will start back at the market this Saturday through November.

            

I have two vendors who live in Plattsburg, MO so will make that my last stops for the day. George Slusher has downsized his farm business over the last few years and has decided to specialize in growing cactus, onions, potatoes and tomato plants. That is when he is not fishing. His potted tomato plants are very health and have already started producing tomatoes. Talk about instant gratification. If you are a cactus lover, like me, you need to take a look at the beautiful pots George and his helper have put together. George is at the Market most Saturday’s and Sunday’s.

              

Last stop for the day is south of Plattsburg not far from highway C. Clara, William, Bill and Jennifer make up Windy Ridge Greenhouse and Produce, and trust me today I know how their farm got its name. I found Clara and William busy watering all the plants in the greenhouses and planting vegetable seeds so they will be ready to transplant in the field once the ground temperature warms up. Most crops can be planted if the ground temperature is at least 42 degrees and there is warm weather in the very near forecast. This has not been the case this spring; the weather is just all over the place. I was surprised that William had his cabbage planted; they just put it in last week. Cabbage handles the cold temperatures better than most plants. The Hank’s greenhouses, they have three, were overflowing with beautiful hanging baskets, assorted bedding plants and herbs. Just down the road from the main farm is Williams’s childhood farm, which is where Bill and Jennifer live. Bill has already planted onions and Jennifer is raising chickens so they can bring fresh eggs to the market. The chicken coop was pretty calm except for Bob the rooster, he was very vocal. Rumor has it, if Bob doesn’t calm down he might find himself at the dinner table. Bob will not be a guest! For more information about Windy Ridge Greenhouse and Produce visit their website at www.windyridgegreenhouse.com

Looking at next week’s extended forecast I am pretty sure I will be visiting more greenhouses next week. The City Market vendors are starting to come in more and more each week on both Saturday and Sunday.Make sure and check the City Market web site for a list of what’s in season.  

Farm Visits October 4, 2012

My farm visits are starting to wind down this year since some of our farmers are slowly starting to drop out for the season. But many of them have replanted fall crops so will continue coming to the Market through December. That’s right; the farmers’ market does not close down the end of October.

Today I setup a time to visit Huns Garden so Pov and Chaxamone could walk me through their fields so I could see what was being harvested for this weekend’s market. I received a complaint from a customer who thought Pov was not growing all the produce which he was selling at the Saturday and Sunday farmers’ market. Whenever I receive a complaint I feel it is my job to see if the complaint is true. Pov was more than happy to meet me and give me the grand tour. I am very happy he did or I would have missed much of what he still had available. Pov does not pull weeds, he grows his crops in the weeds to help protect the plants from the sun and to help keep the soil from drying out. I know it is a little unusual but it works and probably was one of the things that made it possible for them to have produce available all summer. Pov has replanted lettuce and kale which has already come up and should be ready very soon. He is still harvesting Swiss chard, bittermelons, cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, Asian sorrel, arugula, long beans, water spinach, onions, beets, collard greens, a few carrots, French sorrel and of course flowers. (I am sure I am forgetting something) Many of the items the Huns grow will survive over the winter as long as the temperature does not drop below 24 degrees. Pov has six hoop houses which help to make this possible. Huns Garden has 3 contracted stalls at the Saturday market, one of which is a supplement stall, and two stalls at the Sunday market. They are currently supplementing watermelons and pumpkins. I am happy to say my visit was very enjoyable, but not necessary.

 Last week I did not update my blog but I wanted to share the pictures Deb Churchill took when we visited the North Missouri Produce Auction in Jamesport, Mo. For those of you who have never visited Jamesport it is an Amish community located north of 36 Hwy. The town is full of shops and restaurants and a great day trip. The auction is located right out of town and is worth seeing if you are in the area around 10:00 a.m. on a Tuesday or Friday. Some of our vendors purchase produce from the auction to supplement the produce they grow. All the produce sold at the auction must be harvested within 100 miles of Jamesport so meets the Markets requirements of 500 miles or less. This time of year I visit farms as needed but will keep you posted on what you can find at the market this fall and winter

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Today it felt like fall as I headed out to visit farms in Lecompton and Kansas City Kansas. I actually had to wear a coat. Lecompton is just west of Lawrence off I-70. “Two Sisters Farm” is a fairly new hydroponic operation which had its first crop of lettuce and greens in March of this year. Hydroponic farms grow everything in a controlled environment where all the plants are grown in a liquid nutrient instead of soil. Ryan met me at the door to the packing area of the greenhouse where they were busy packaging lettuce for a pickup later in the day. I was amazed by how clean the greenhouse was and the contrast in colors. It was just beautiful. The Eddinger’s can grow 9,306 heads of lettuce at once and are constantly either harvesting, transplanting and rotating their crop. It is just amazing to see. They do not need to use any chemicals since the lettuce is grown in a controlled environment. If there is a problem they are usually able to solve it with ladybugs. When the lettuce is harvested you will get the roots and all. If you store the lettuce in your refrigerator with a little water on the roots it will stay fresh for weeks.

Ryan and Caroline will be at the market this coming Sunday and probably throughout the winter on Saturdays. What a treat to get fresh, locally grown lettuce and greens all winter. For additional information about their wonderful operation visit their web site at www.twosistersfarmllc.com

Since it was still early when I headed back to the office I thought I would stop and visit Chiong Vang’s farm in Kansas City, KS. I visited this farm the first of July but with the very dry summer we have had I thought I would take another look since we have been getting some rain. They still have a few items they are harvesting such as green beans, okra, Asian peppers, long beans, beats, kale, fresh herbs and cut flowers. They have also replanted cucumbers and onions which will start producing later if the weather holds. Hmong Vaj Farm is at the market every Saturday and Sunday in the middle farmers shed.

Almost all of our farmer’s stalls should be full tomorrow and the weather will be cool and sunny. What a great day to stroll through the market, get some wonderful local produce, enjoy the sights and have lunch. I am still undecided where I will head next week; I still have quite few more farms to visit this season.