The goal today was to visit 15 farms in Kansas City, Kansas. Even though all the farms are close together we were not able to get them all in by 4:30. Today I had help, Nathan is an intern at the City Market and has been helping me since the end of May. He graduated from Emporia State University in the spring and is completing his degree with a summer internship. Nathan has been a huge help this summer and will be missed when he leaves the end of August.

The first group of farms we checked were all located just north of I-70 on a large piece of land which is sectioned off and leased out to various families for farming. The Market currently has five vendors who farm this section of land. They grow similar items and do this without access to water, they all are hoping for rain this week. 

Pheng Her’s small section was pretty much finished except for okra and a few beans. She also farms a section of land in Pleasant Hill which I will check within the next few weeks. Pheng is a Sunday contracted vendor located in the first shed in stalls 9 and 10.

Chava Xiong works a pretty large plot of land and has been rotating his crops and is harvesting eggplant, green beans, assorted peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, assorted squash, cucumbers, okra, cilantro, watermelons and cantaloupe. He also grows an assortment of flowers. Chava arrived as we were leaving, his plan for the day was to plant leafy greens. Chava is a Sunday contracted vendor in shed 2 stalls 54 and 55.

Vang Thao is a waiting list vendor on Sunday. The plot was located on a hillside. Without water some plants were not doing as well as others. They were harvesting assorted squash, eggplant, Tai peppers, mixed beans, cucumbers, long beans, bitter melon, and melons. They also were growing zinnias.

Youa Vang had a plot of land located on the east side of the property. Youa was harvesting assorted squash and melons, okra, Swiss chard, green beans, Asian cucumbers and bitter melon. Youa also was growing zinnias and black eyed Susan’s. Youa is a Sunday waiting list vendor, which means she has been approved to sell at the Sunday farmers market but does not have a contract.

Amy Lo has a fairly large plot and is growing a lot of flowers to sell as cut flowers at the Market. Amy was growing zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, bachelor buttons, cockscomb and cosmos. Cut flower arrangements are a big part of Amy’s stall. She was harvesting cabbage, tomatoes, snap peas, green beans, bitter melon, cucumbers, eggplant, assorted peppers, squash, Swiss chard and assorted herbs. Amy is a Sunday contracted vendor located in shed two stall 56 and sells at the Saturday market as a waiting list vendor. 

Our next location was at the home of Vanna Her. Vanna farms with her sister in law Yia who was busy working in the fields when we arrived. As it warms up the weeds want to take over if you don’t keep on top of it. Yia showed Nathan and I around the farm, she had just finish cutting flowers before we arrived. Her car was filled with sunflowers, coxcomb, and zinnias. They were harvesting lemon grass, beans, okra, tomatoes, bitter melon, lufa (which can be eaten when it is small) cucumbers, okra, pak choi cilantro, mustard greens and peppers. Vanna is a Saturday waiting list vendor so her location changes weekly.

Our next stop is one of my favorite farms to check since it contains acres of beautiful flowers. See Vang grows more flowers to sell as bouquets on the weekend than any of our vendors. Nathan and I walked by row after row of sunflowers, dahlias, cosmos, iris, celosia, eucalyptus, cockscomb and a few varieties I am not familiar with. I have never seen such a large field of zinnias, I am sure the pictures will not do it justice. In addition to flowers See and her family also grow a few vegetables such as bitter melon, Asian squash, tomatoes and assorted peppers. See is at the City Market on Saturdays and most Sundays May through the first frost. You will find her in stalls 88, 135 & 136 on Saturdays and stall 82 on Sundays.

Just down the road is Yee Vang’s farm. Yee was home when we arrived so walked us through their fields. They don’t usually water but due to the lack of rain over the last month they have had to start. Their farm is a patchwork of various kinds of produce and flowers and a joy to walk through. Yee grows 5 varieties of basil and an impressive list of other herbs such as lemon grass, cilantro, rosemary, sage and dill. A few of the vegetables we saw were an assortment of peppers, a variety of eggplant, long beans, cucumbers, green onions and zucchini, just to name a few. Yee Vang and his family are at the Market every Saturday and Sunday through the spring and summer. They are located in stalls 66 & 67 on Saturday and stalls 76, 77 & 83 on Sundays.

After we drive a few minutes we arrived at the home/farm of Cha Vang. This is a new location for Cha and his family since they were forced to relocate due to a fire. Fortunately no one was hurt. Mee Lee was setting under a shade tree when we arrived, cutting and bundling lemon grass. She told us to feel free to show ourselves around. Like many of the farms we visited today they do not water any of their fields. We saw various varieties of eggplant, bitter melon, lettuce, green beans, long beans, assorted peppers, assorted herbs, squash and okra. At the rear of their field they had an assortment of zinnias, cockscomb and sun flowers. Cha and his family are at the Market every Saturday in shed three stalls 123 & 124 and Sundays in shed two stalls 75 & 81.

Next stop is at the home/farm of Pang and Chao Her. Their entire farm is on a hill with a large growth of bamboo right in the middle. They were currently harvesting an assortment of peppers, cilantro, okra, cucumbers, squash and eggplant. Their farm is a work in progress and they have plans for clearing off more land at the back of their property. Chao Her is a new Sunday contracted vendor.

Last stop for the day is on the south side of I-70. Chiong Vang and his family have been farming this section of land for a few years. They also have two other plots in the area for a total of 10 acres. Chiong was home when I arrived and showed us around. They have an abundance of produce and a wonderful variety. I did not realize how many different varieties of eggplant there are and Chiong grows a few of them. A few of the unusual items they grow are hicama, water spinach, jit leaves, sweet potato leaves and bitter balls. In addition to produce they also grow flowers such as sunflowers, zinnias, and cockscomb. Hmong Vaj Farm is at the Market every Saturday and Sunday late spring till the first frost. On Saturdays they are located in the second and third farmer sheds in stalls 90, 91, 108 & 109. Sundays you will find them in sheds one and two stalls 20, 86, 85 & 123.

Next week I have a new craft vendor to visit and will probably head towards Pleasant Hill, MO. Hopefully the rain in the forecast materializes this week, the farmers are in dire need of it.

I am back on the road today, the holiday and a conference has put me way behind. Today I am heading to Buckner, Lexington, Odessa and Kansas City.

Mark and Marlin Frye have a farm in Buckner as well as a road side store. This coming October they hope to have a pumpkin patch in addition to their yearly sorghum festival at their farm located on Buckner Tarsny road, north of 210 highway. When I arrived Marlin was ready to show me around. Behind their house they were harvesting tomatoes, eggplant, assorted peppers such as jalapenos and banana peppers, green peppers, zucchini and green beans. Last week they planted additional tomato plants which will be ready in September and will be planting turnips the end of July. Marlin said their watermelons got a pretty late start due to the wet spring so won’t be ready for awhile and their cantaloupes will be ready in a couple weeks. Mark was out in the field when I arrived checking on a few things and Marlin’s daughter in law was busy picking green beans from a raised bed. The Frye’s put in raised beds a few years ago but have not been very happy with them, they take a lot of water and the plants don’t produce very well. The only thing that seemed to do well in the raised beds was the green beans. The Frye’s farm is much smaller than it was in years past; Marlin hopes to add a high tunnel before next spring so the weather won’t play such a big part in his planting. Marlin picks all his tomatoes when they are green, just starting to blush and then ripens them indoors. Today he had 65 cases of green tomatoes in his store and will sort through them every few days to pull out any ripe ones to sell. He does this so the tomatoes won’t split or sun burn in the fields.  

Marlin also gets produce from his oldest son’s farm located in Lexington, Missouri so Marlin road along with me to their farm. This farm is used for Market sales only, no wholesale, and consist of 25 acres. This location also had green beans which were flowering, watermelons, cantaloupe, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes some of which will be ready in late September. Marlins daughter- in- law sells at the Independence Farmers Market and the Friday Market in North Kansas City which is where she will sell the green beans she picked today. They also had cases of green tomatoes they will pick through to sell as they ripen. Marlin and Mark are in the Farmer with Local Supplement category, this means they must grow 50% of all the items they bring to the City Market and can supplement 50% from other local growers where the produce is harvested within 500 miles of the City Market. The Frye’s are currently supplementing greenhouse tomatoes and peaches. The items they are currently harvesting are eggplant, green tomatoes, green beans, assorted peppers and squash. They also have a few hanging flower baskets for those of you who did not have very good luck with the ones you bought in May.

Marlin’s son also raises horses so I had to take a peek. He raises various breeds such as Clydesdales and also has a miniature horse which his wife has named Twinkie. You don’t realize how large a Clydesdale is until you are standing by one, they are beautiful. 

After taking Marlin back home I drove over to Odessa to visit Pete Economides. Pete was not home at the time but told me I could show myself around. Pete is currently selling house plants and vegetable plants in his stalls and will have peppers once they are ready. His green house was stuffed to the brim with assorted plants. In addition to his greenhouse he also has a plot near the main road where he grows assorted hot, really hot and sweet peppers. Pete is located in shed three stalls 105-106&107 on Saturday and shed two, stalls 87-88-89 on Sundays.

I cannot visit Pete without stopping by Busy Bee Acres to see Bob and Liz Harrison. Bob and Liz have been selling honey at the City Market for years. You will find them in the first covered farmers shed in stalls 24-25 & 26. They have hives spread throughout the area and on their farm. Last year I went with Bob to see a few of the locations, very interesting to see. Today they were not home when I arrived at least I think they weren’t. Every time I started to go up to the porch of their processing house a raccoon, who was on the porch eating the cats food,  gave me a “don’t you dare”  look, I did not dare. Raccoons make me really nervous. I couldn’t believe the cat was just laying there. Maybe it was a pet; I didn’t want to find out. I did stick around long enough to take a picture of Liz’s llamas and their fruit trees, bees do love fruit trees. The Harrisons are in the first shed in stalls 24-25-26.

The last stop for the day is back in Kansas City, on the edge of Lee’s Summit. Tim and Michele Dusselier currently sell at the Lee’s Summit market on Saturday and will be selling at the City Market on Sunday’s. When I arrived Michele was busy with customers who were still buying hanging baskets and potted plants. I showed myself around the fields; about 3 acres filled with tomatoes, egg plant, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers and banana peppers. Michele has planted the tomatoes in stages so she should continue picking through September. One of her greenhouses was still filled with beautiful plants; she is very creative when it comes to mixing the plants together in pots. I think the Dusselier’s will be a great addition to the Sunday Market.

After all the mayhem at the Market on Wednesday which rolled into Thursday it was hard for me to get away for long. We have a new vendor who wanted to start coming to the Market this week so I really wanted to get out to his farm today. New vendors, in the farm category must be checked before they are allowed to sell at the City Market. Basically I am checking to see if they have a farm or large backyard garden and if they are harvesting the produce they listed on their application. I also ask about their water source and growing practices. I always find that farmers love to talk about their farms.

I was able to break away for a few hours and drive up to Rosendale, Missouri which is just north of St. Joe.  Jaylon Sybert is fairly new to growing for a farmers market so has started off fairly slow and hopes to build up as time goes by. He currently has a small plot behind his brother’s home where he has planted tomatoes, chili peppers, squash, okra, and green beans. Jaylon plans to supplement his stall with sweet corn from Randy Roberts in Rea, MO. Jaylon will be selling at the City Market on Sundays as a waiting list vendor so his location will vary from week to week.

I will be attending an AgriMissouri conference next week so will not be out checking farms. I will however be touring urban farms and community gardens. It should be an interesting week.