A tour for commercial vegetable growers or anyone with an interest in vegetable production is scheduled for Thursday August 23^rd in Platte and Clay Counties, MO.  The tour is designed to show various marketing possibilities, crops that can be grown in the area and various techniques used for market gardening.  There will be time to exchange ideas and ask questions.

Check in time for the tour will be from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. at Karbaumer Farm, 12200 State Hwy 92 near Platte City. Take exit 18 off of Interstate 29 and go East (towards Smithville) the farm is on the north side of Hwy 92 about a mile and one half from Platte City. 

The first stop will be at Karbaumer Farm.  Klaus and LeAnn Karbaumer grow around 40 different varieties of vegetables, plus herbs and cut flowers. To get an early start on production a high tunnel is used. The power to run equipment for the farm is provided by draft horses. They grow their crops organically. The farm also features farm fresh eggs via free-ranging, pasture grazing hens.  They market through their community supported agriculture (CSA) program and farmers markets. Website address: http://karbaumerfarm.com.

Next, the tour will travel to Fair Share Farm, near Kearney.  Rebecca Graff and Tom Ruggieri grow over 200 varieties of 50 different vegetables and herbs on their farm. Produce is grown following organic and sustainable farming methods. They built a solar heated greenhouse that utilizes barrels of water to collect heat during the day and releases heat at night to grow their early crops. Drip irrigation and strip cropping using cover crops is utilized. And they have fencing to prevent deer damage to their crops. Produce is marketed through a community supported agriculture (CSA) system. Families and individuals receive food each week from mid-May through October. Website address: http://www.fairsharefarm.com.

The final visit will be at Watkins Woolen Mill, a state park and historic site near Lawson. The Historic Site section of the facility includes the Watkins family home and woolen mill. The Watkins family farm also includes a vegetable garden and orchard. The staff and Master Gardener volunteers now interpret the garden by growing heirloom varieties of vegetables that would have been grown during the time the Watkins family lived there. Additionally several original buildings, including a fruit-drying house, have been preserved at the site. A museum on the grounds includes exhibits pertaining to the family, farm, and mill. Website address: http://www.watkinsmill.org.

Box lunches will be served at Watkins Mill, provided by the Rayville Baking Company, a part of the Van Till Family farm. They bake artisan breads, pies, and pastries with organic flours and as much as possible with other natural ingredients. The farm also raises hogs, chickens, and beef along with grapes and greenhouse production. The deli lunch will feature organic whole bread with some of their own wonderfully flavorful meats, such as genoa salami and matadella and fresh condiments. It will also include a fresh bakery dessert, a side and a drink.  Website address: http://www.rayvillebaking.com.

There is no charge for the tour.  To pre-register or for more information call the University of Missouri Extension office in St. Joseph at 816-279-1691.  Please register by August 17^th.  You can also find complete details and a registration form at: http://extension.missouri.edu/nwregion/hort/index.html.