Hey Hey Hungry People,
This is crazy Farmer Brooke here and man - I am starving! It has been a long and cold winter, an even LONGER and COLDER and WETTER Spring, and I cannot take it anymore!! I am ready for some earthly delights from the dirt. We all know the supermarket sucks, but have no fear folks, because the BADSEED Farmers Market is finally here with our GRAND OPENING for the season this FRIDAY, May 1, from 4:30 - 9 PM. Yay!
Before I rattle on too long and go into a lengthy and luxurious description of this season's vendors, lets get the "nutshell" version. This Friday, LOCAL ORGANIC DELIGHTS will include:
TRANSPLANTS Galore for Your Organic Garden
(heirloom tomatoes, orgasmic eggplant, sweet and hot peppers, culinary & medicinal herbs, bodacious brassicas, flowers, black raspberry plants, and companion crops to ward off those evil bugs!!)
GREENS, Glorious GREENS!
(like I said, Spring has been cold so supply is limited, come early for baby spinach, lemon sorrel, red lettuces, and edible flowers)
GOAT CHEESE from Goatsbeard Farm
(Aged and Fresh Varieties - I have died and gone to heaven, there is nothing more to say!!)
Succulent SPROUTS, Kamut Grass Shots, and Juicing Flats
(Kamut is a "sweet Egyptian wheat grass" - DIVINE!!)
Artisan BREADS & BAKED Goods!
(the sourdough Sicilian loaves from our baker will knock your socks off so don't wear any)
Micro-roasted Organic & Fair-trade COFFEE
AND MORE....
So, for me, Farmers are like Rock Stars! They are "larger than life" beings meant to be idolized. The only difference is, instead of making bad music, they grow food that nurtures and sustains the lives of others. I am honored to present this seasons cast of characters, who not only grow/produce sustainable food products, they all do so within the CITY LIMITS! BADSEED is truly an urban market. Here we go:
Herb"n"Gardener
Lew Edminster
West Side, KCMO
Lew is more like a old sailor than a farmer. He has this sea-faring way about him. However, he does not play in the waves, he digs in the dirt all day at his charming plot on 17th and Madison near Blue Bird Bistro. Lew grows gorgeous greens and flowers and a plethora of leafy madness to be munched on. This week he will have loads of transplants including lime green zinnias, dark chocolate nasturtium, colorful cosmos, veggies of course, and heirloom tomato plants. I want to be more like Lew when I grow up.....
Root Deep Urban Farm
Sherri Harvel
East Side, KCMO
Sherri is a force not to be reckoned with. She works by night and farms by day. (What a schedule!) Sherri grows wicked potatoes, the best in town, and whole slew of other seasonal goodness. Her flower strewn plot brightens the neighborhood east of downtown KC. This week Sherri will have various greens and of course a variety of transplants. (Her hot peppers are hotter than most)
Platte Prairie Farms
Steve Mann (aka Squash Father)
North Side, KCMO
I love the Squash Father! As a grower Steve is an example to me. He employs "permaculture-minded, no-till madness" on his urban farm nestled in the loess bluffs and rich creek bottoms of KC's Northland. Steve has a love and respect for nature that many farmers have abandoned in their need for control and high yields . His cultivation practices aim to imitate nature rather than work against it. He is a true steward of the land. This week he will have sweet potatoes, spinach, black raspberry plants, summer squash babies, kamut grass (trays and shots), and a plethora of BULK Organic Grains including brown rice, oatmeal, raw almonds, raisins, and sprouting seeds.
BADSEED Farm
Brooke Salvaggio and Daniel Heryer
South Side, KCMO
Yeah, yeah...you know the deal with me. Funny, little, tattooed chick, who saved her soul through organic farming! Well guess what, I am not alone anymore. Fell in love with another young farmer somewhere in between diggin' potatoes and pickin' beans and now we are going at it together! We have been busy on our 2 Acre Backyard Farm at 95th and Stateline Rd. We have put in an Urban Orchard, a massive tea garden, expanded our annual vegetable and herb beds, got 26 laying hens, and 3 dairy goats are on the way!!! This week we will have an impressive variety of outrageous medicinal and culinary herb transplants and flowers including russian tarragon, pink sunday sage, german thyme, multi-colored nasturtium, african marigolds, peppermint, purple opal basil, thai basil, lime basil, lemon balm, calendula, chamomile, and more.....not to mention baby spinach, lemon sorrel, and edible flowers.
Denise Scott (the Sprout Lady)
KCMO
Denise is new to the scene and we are happy to have her and her lovely organic SPROUTS and other healthful goodies. This week she will have a greens & legume mix of Adzuki bean, red clover, china radish, red cabbage, and red lentil - YUM! As well as broccoli sprouts, and sprouted, dried salted almonds for snacking....
Chris Glenn from Cafe Europa
BREAD BAKER Extraordinaire!!!
KCMO
This Boy knows how to bake! And as a foodie and connoissuer of fine artisan loaves, I am sold on this one. I have been all over Sicily from town to town, and bakery to bakery, tasting the local breads - a passion of mine. The (lost) craftsmanship of the old world and the wood-fired oven impart a taste and a texture that cannot be described and can certainly not readily be found in Kansas City, that is until I met Chris. I am absolutely ecstatic to offer his breads at BADSEED - and he will be using local organic flour just for us!!!
Puddin' Head Coffee
George and Vicki Hartmann
KCMO
Hurray for our local roasters!!! Here is what they had to say:
"Hello organic coffee lovers. We are very excited to attend this summer market for the first time.
The winter market was a blast!
For those of you who aren't familiar with our company, we are a local micro-roaster offering organic and fairly traded coffees, much of which are shade grown.
On hand Friday we will have Rainforest Blend, Ethiopia Blue Nile Blend and Decaf Peru. Free samples available as well as coffee sold by the cup. We will also be serving organic hot tea and Vicki's organic hot cocoa. For the home roaster we will have raw green coffee beans available.
Hope to see you there!"
===
Wow! What a "mouth watering" mouthful. I am worn out just from typing and hyping all this urban organic insanity. So enough talk. Come see us this Friday in the Crossroads from 4:30 to 9 PM. Live music from Checkered Past and live entertainment from a renegade crowd of funky farmers, and of course GOOD FOOD!
FYI - Upcoming "Urban Homesteading" class Wednesday, May 6 -
Build Your own Worm Compost Bin
A Compact and Odorless System for the Urban Dwelling
See you FRIDAY!
Yours Truly,
Brooke (farmer and mistress of the BADSEED)
BADSEED
An Urban-Organic Farm & MarketCelebrating Local Food, Culture, and Community1909 McGee*KCMO*64108www.badseedfarm.com 
