“It’s a labour of love, We’re happy. Two of our kids are working on the farm.” So said Martin Kiewitz, market gardener of Henry Reed Produce at the top of Henry Road. Martin and his wife Tracey have operated their market garden stand for 30 years, starting small and adding more beds and greenhouses gradually. They are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays.
They grow many organic vegetables, mostly salad mix, of which they sell 50 per cent to stores and restaurants and 50 per cent at their farm gate. They also sell eggs and have organic chicken meat for sale on weekends until October.
Martin proudly stated that they are the only certified organic farm on the Coast.
He pointed out his eight giant compost beds. They screen the rapidly cooking compost and use it and their chicken manure over their two-and-a-half acres of vegetables.
They use plastic mulch and plant seedlings through slits in black plastic, which brings more nutrition and water to the roots. Labour costs are high, as seeding, planting new crops and weeding constantly are done by hand; they sometimes produce four crops a year. Pests like wireworms are a challenge, so they rotate crops heavily so pests can’t establish permanently in one bed.
Martin and Tracey work incredibly hard as market gardeners and they are grateful for their long-term, hard-working employees.
Newer market gardeners are Chris Kelly and David Nelson of Pratt Farm stand at 538 Pratt Road in Gibsons. They have a small operation, open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., June to October. They sell farm produce, Saskatoon berries, eggs, honey, pickles, jams, and orchard fruits.
Chris says that Pratt Farm is an interactive farm, where you can follow him to the raised beds and select your own vegetables. “It can’t be fresher unless you pick it from your own garden” is Chris’s byword. Chris and David believe strongly in community building, networking with other gardeners and customers, sharing tips, sharing seeds on Seedy Saturday, believing that local, fresh, and nutritious food is at the heart of a rewarding community.
One of their biggest challenges is to educate people who think farm food should be cheaper; it is, in fact, the opposite because the food is of the highest quality, the freshest, and is seasonal and in limited supply.
Chris would recommend growing your own food in a number of ways: turn your front lawns into your own raised beds; grow food on your windowsills; barter with others.
Both of these Area E market gardeners would be happy for you to support your local growers.
– By Marilyn Giesbrecht and Gayle Neilson
