Farmers’ Market Week: Rutabaga Ranch
As part of #FarmersMarketWeek, we chatted with Rutabaga Ranch about everything under the sun!
Read more below about their experiences operating with an extended season, how they learned their trade, and what they hope for regarding the next generation of Canadians and agriculture.
Question: We understand that you operate with an extended season, even when compared to other farmers… Could you share a little information on how it works?
We focus on season extension which means working really hard to bring our customers their favourite veggies longer! We heat our greenhouses with wood that would otherwise be wasted from tree removal in the city which allows us to start our hot crops like tomatoes and our famous cucumbers very early in the season.
Using frost blankets and a lot of muscle, we start planting outside in the field April 1st. We spend upwards of 2 hours a day opening the blankets in the morning so the veggies can stretch out in the sun, before closing them up again for the frosty nights.
It’s a big gamble for us as well because if it were to frost hard enough, we could lose hours of planting and covering to old man winter trickling into the spring.
But — All that extra work is worth it when we see the excitement on our customers’ faces when we bring them the first carrots and beets.
Question: We heard that you trained with someone who is considered a 'farmers' market guru'... Could you tell us a bit about the experience?
I worked on many amazing market gardens before starting Rutabaga Ranch. Our farm is directly modelled after Jean Martin Fortier’s market garden.
I worked on his experimental farm La Ferme Quatre Temps where I got hands on experience in their farming practises, season extension techniques, and how they manage the farm to work directly with restaurants.
La ferme quatre temps is set up like a farm school where farmers can go to try their hand at farm management. It was truly an incredible experience! I met so many amazing people who I still connect with for advice on farming.
Question: Could you tell us a bit about how you encourage biodiversity on your farm?
There is great power in the biodiversity of our farm! The more we try to create an ecosystem here at the ranch, the more said ecosystem will work to our advantage as organic growers. The more bugs, frogs, and birds we have the less pest pressure we will have to battle. Nature is always harmonious, so we plant a lot of non-crop plants and flowers to welcome all the good critters to the Ranch.
Our ecosystem is a part of the regenerative agriculture model and is in direct rebellion to monoculture — those big cornfields you see driving down most country roads. It also makes the Farm incredibly beautiful!
Did you know heirloom tomatoes are in fact sweeter than the tomatoes we know from the grocery store?
Their “ugly” green shoulders are a sign of photosynthesis which adds more sugars into the fruit!
most grocery store tomato varieties are chosen so they have even “beautiful” colouring and look more attractive to the eye! But man — they’re lacking flavour!
Question: It’s possible that much of our audience does not know much about farming! Why don’t we change that?
Robbie and I both grew up with agriculture being big parts of our lives and we realize now how big of a privilege that is…
This is the first generation of children in history to grow up without a direct link to a farm — Grandparents, uncles, or immediate family members being on a farm. That’s why we thought it was so important to open our farm up every Saturday for farm tours (10am-3pm).
And let me tell you there’s nothing better than seeing the excitement of a little one’s face as we pull carrots out of the ground, wipe the dirt off on our pants farmer-style, and eat them!
We need to give parents the opportunity to connect their children to agriculture or else they may just grow up thinking food comes from the store or out of a box.
Agriculture is one of the number one polluter in our world. Choosing small scale, local food to fill our plates is one huge action we can take to revive our planet and fight climate change.
Learn more about Rutabaga Ranch on their website and sign up for our newsletter to find out when they’ll be at your Ottawa Markets!
