Baker Creek, Mansfield, MO

DH and I are flying to Missouri today for his family reunion in Branson, MO. On our return Monday, we fly out of Springfield, so I'm hoping for a side trip to Baker Creek in Mansfield.

Has anyone been to this facility/store? Is it worth the side trip? From the website it looks neat.

Have fun, Sanderson!

Haven't been there, but know that the customer service folks there are terrific!

sanderson, it is well worth the side trip if you possible make it.  Branson is about 45 minutes south of Springfield and Mansfield is about (to their farm) is about an hour east of Springfield.  Allow some extra time as the Springfield airport is on the far NW side of town.  Hope you can make it there!  Let us know.  Oh, have fun at the reunion.

Thanks for the reply on visiting Baker Creek.  Still stuck in Chicago due to thunderstorms.  Us and many others.  We we lucky to get a last room.  Trying to fly again tomorrow.

It's well worth the effort if you're in the area! I went in May for the planting festival. The demonstration gardens were a little barren then, but it appears in recent videos they are really full now. There are a lot of Amish living between Springfield and Mansfield. It's interesting to see them on the road, and I always wonder what's in their gardens!

This could make for a very interesting trip report, sanderson! Hope you can get some good pics, too.

I only took one pic and will post it when I get home Mon night and get back to my computer.  I also took 3 photos of the Chicago O'Hara airport veggie towers featured by John Koller, Growing Your Greens.

Did you have a good time?

MB,  Not so much a fun time, because it was not a monthly Sunday activity day.  Maybe 5-6 cars max.  I think it would be more fun on one of the activity Sundays.  When we stepped out of the A/C car, the humidity about knocked me over.  You could cut it with a cake knife.  Since we spent 2 days traveling in the same clothes due to airport delays and cancellations, it just added to our sense of griminess.

I think some facility folks are Amish and some non-Amish.  The Amish that went to Cal to set up the Petaluma Seed Bank or attend the Heirloom Exposition had a real cultural shock, as one non-Amish employee told us!  When I mentioned to one that we were from Cal, it was like I had green hair.  But they were nice, just not outgoing.  Of few words.

Bought a delicious brownie with caramelized pecans on top.  Bought 3 packs of seeds:  2 tomatoes from the Mid East, Iran I think, that tolerate heat like I have.  Also a green bean (semi pole) than takes abuse.  They are out in the car but I will send the names later.  Since I have been to the Petaluma Seed Bank and have their catalog, I didn't browse long.  The out buildings that have been decorated with primitives (antiques) were interesting.  I guess I expected to see fields of seed plants developing, but there were only 2 patches.  We took highway 5 south from highway 44 so we got to see a lot of green upon green.  Then we hit a gravel road for about 3 miles.  Ugh.  The best approach is from the south from H 60 up 5.  Lickity split.

PS:  I see you are from SW MO.  Oh, duh

Here are the 3 hot weather tomatoes I bought:
Atkinson (for the South US)
Basrawya ( sourthern Iraq)
Abu Rawan  (Abu Ghraib area) Determinant (Iraq)

These last two are from the expat Iraqi seed collector mentioned in the catalog.  Apparently, one of the losses of war and unrest is variety of seeds. 

The green bean is Missouri Wonder.