Road Trip – Missouri (Part 5)

…as the rain clouds moved in and the afternoon began to wane, we finally reached our objective just north of Mansfield Missouri.  We had arrived at the Bakersfield Pioneer Village and Baker’s Creek Seed Store…

The seed store, which is located in this building, was the key to everything for Laurie.  Having the pioneer village was just a plus factor to her thinking.  So we had plenty of time for her to shop in the store.

Packets of seeds lined much of the store’s wall space…and I can assure you that Laurie bought a variety of flower seeds…types that made sense for our yard, as well as for one of our new neighbor’s landscaping.  The display rack in the second photo was loaded with a variety of food items for those who do and who don't garden.

Jere Gettle founded the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed in 1998 as a hobby.  His original catalog included 70 varieties of seeds and were handed out to about 550 people.  Today the company distributes about 1,400,000 catalogs each year and they feature about 1,000 heirloom varieties.  Baker Creek is North America’s largest heirloom seed company...

While Laurie was shopping in the Seed Store, I was wandering around outside taking in the sights.  My first encounter was with “Fluffy”, or perhaps "Scruffy", a dusty gray ‘mouser’ who didn’t move when I came near, but who did give me the ‘evil eye’.

This great looking 1956 Chevrolet (Chevy) Belair was sitting right next to the seed store…and I don’t miss any opportunities to take photos of old and or classic cars. 

The Seed Store occupies the spot where the original homesteading family had planted their market garden.  Starting in 2007, the first portion of the current Pioneer Village was built.  In addition to the Seed Store, there is a farm-to-table vegan restaurant, a ‘speaker barn’, an old-time mercantile, an herbal apothecary, a natural bakery, a blacksmith shop, a western sheriff’s office and jail, a native rock oven, a windmill, seed warehouses and a variety of historic poultry and livestock breeds.

We arrived a bit late in the day, so the restaurant was closed.  The good news is that I didn’t have to choose something to eat from the vegan menu, although I did note a couple of items I’d try that didn’t included greens, which I can’t eat.

The gardens at Baker’s Creek were just outstanding!  Maintaining them as well as the village has to be a challenge and it has to employ quite a few people.  One extra bit of good news for visitors to the Pioneer Village is that there isn’t any admission charge!  It’s a ‘freebee’, at least for visitors who are just looking around…

This is the Apothecary, aka store and bakery.  Lots of opportunities to spend money in Pioneer Village!  We did buy a couple of molasses cookies to go…and they were amazing…

Here’s another photo of part of the Pioneer Village.  Baker Creek and the Pioneer Village began hosting festivals in 2000.  The idea was to bring together gardeners, homesteaders and natural foods enthusiasts so they could exchange ideas and seeds as well as enjoy vendor’s wares, old time music and more.  An annual tulip festival, spring planting festival and fall harvest festivals are hosted at the farm each year

Laurie and love the animals but by the time we finished looking around Pioneer Village, we were trying to dodge raindrops and cringing as thunder boomed all around us.  Both the fowl and that goat really wanted Laurie’s attention, or perhaps it was the grass she was passing to them…

Laurie took this nice photo looking out from Pioneer Village over the farm and its myriad gardens and greenhouses.  Pioneer Village in Mansfield Missouri is the company’s headquarters.  Trial gardens and the greenhouses are all part of the total.

Another public event that Baker Creek sponsors is the National Heirloom Exposition, which attracts more than 20,000 people every year.  In its 10^th year, this event will be held at the beach in Ventura California.  FYI, Baker Creek also has a seed store in Petaluma California.

One last garden/flower photo taken at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company and Pioneer Village.

The company saves, grows and shares rare seeds.  Their objective is to help provide seeds of a sustainable food supply for everyone by keeping heirloom varieties alive for future generations.  Their concern is to preserve seed diversity and promote food security in a time when corporate agriculture develops hybridized seeds and patents them…narrowing diversity and putting our food supply at potential risk.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company and Pioneer Village is open year around but hours do vary so check ahead.  They are located at 2278 Baker Creek Road near Mansfield Missouri.  Their website and on-line store can be found at Our Village | Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com).

Once we finally returned home, Laurie laid out her selection of seeds for me to photograph.  She only purchased 2 types of Milkweed…of the 9 different varieties offered by Baker Creek.  Flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruits…the variety was endless so this group of 14 seed packets didn’t even cover the number of melon seeds…24 in total…that are offered on-line.  The number of seed choices on-line and in the store are mind-blowing!

Of course, you might have noticed that we’d made a couple other purchases too.  Honey Pecan Apple Butter, Honey Butter Spread, Pickled Beets and some Blackberry Jam. 

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave