Crooked Hills Farm
Markus Saunders and Jennifer Farnum
1560 Over The Hills Rd.
Clarendon Station, ON K0H 1J0
Email: corvusmark@yahoo.ca
613 279 3214
What They Produce:
Strawberries - pre-picked or pick-your-own (farmgate) mid June – early July. (call ahead for hours and updates), honey (August). maple syrup (Spring). hay (June-July), Christmas trees (December) at the Sharbot Lake PetroCan Station or cut your own.
For those of you who have not experienced the pleasures of ‘strawberry days’, don’t lament! For a few weeks at the end of June and beginning of July, the time will be ripe to start what should become a seasonal ritual for each and every one of us! ‘Strawberry Days’ (or maybe more aptly named ‘Strawberry Daze’ after inhaling the heady, sweet scent of strawberries all day) involves gathering friends and/or family, donning sunhats, heading out for a day of picking baskets of ripe, red berries, and coming home for a communal cook-off! Can anyone tell me what smell is better than strawberry jam boiling on the stove? And what makes the time pass more quickly than good company to help with the efforts?
For anyone who enjoys a beautiful drive in the countryside, the trip to Crooked Hills Farm will be a treat. The 4 acres of strawberry fields are nestled in the rolling countryside near Clarendon Station, north of Sharbot Lake. Marcus Saunders bought this (then abandoned) old homestead (built 1863) in 1988. At that time he owned a tree planting business, and while he loved the land and the area in general, he never really intended to live there full-time. As it happens, he sold his tree planting business in 1996, and moved to Crooked Hills with his partner Jennifer Farnum.
Over the years they have done an amazing job of restoring both the land and the buildings. Between the two of them they have run a B&B for several years, raised chickens and goats, developed the strawberry fields, planted fields of Christmas trees (which they sell locally or at the farm in December), developed a maple syrup business, and kept bees (honey available in August). Marcus also harvests hay to sell, and the straw needed for mulching the berries. Jen has been teaching in Plevna for several years now, and their most recent additional project is raising their two-year-old twin girls!
One might be interested to know what efforts go into producing that jar of strawberry jam aside from the jolly cooking bee we get to enjoy on our toast the day after picking! To start with, different varieties of berries are planted to extend the season. ‘Annapolis’ ripens a bit earlier, and ‘Cavendish’ ripens later with larger (though perhaps slightly less flavorful) fruits. Strawberry plants are usually replaced every 3 years. Each year ¼ to 1/3 of the plants will be replanted. Their 4-acre patch has approximately 3 km. of rows, or 60-70,000 plants. I wonder how many millions of berries this farm has grown!!?
Strawberries need well-drained soil but also enough water to fruit well so Marcus has installed an extensive irrigation system in case of dry weather. In the early part of the season, emergency night irrigation is sometimes needed to prevent frost damage on cold nights. Weather also plays a large part in determining potential disease. Lots of rain increases the chance of fungal problems (fruit rot, and leaf fungus) as well as root rot. It will also water-down the sweetness of the fruit which is why in a rainy year berries are usually less flavorful than in a hot, drier year.
As opposed to many larger fruit growing operations that hire Mexican fieldworkers, Marcus and Jen try to find local help. Despite their good intentions, finding committed help is often difficult as, it seems, few people these days are interested in working in the field for a month-long weeding and picking season. Standards are set south of the border, he explained, where cheap Mexican labour, and industrial farming is the norm. The result is a cheaper imported product that can be difficult to compete with (unless you taste the difference).
Healthy plants need healthy soil so strawberry beds are rotated annually. Part of the land will be planted to new plants, part will be bearing fruit, and part will be cover-cropped in brassicas or millet. Sandy soils like theirs often have a root-lesion type of nematode that is detrimental to the plants. Interestingly, millet is one of the few crops that doesn’t host this kind of nematode! Millet will be seeded first then ploughed under before going to seed, then followed by oil seed radish (a brassica) that dies with the frost or is ploughed under. This rotation and the continual straw mulch that is applied each year (280 bales/acre) helps enormously in adding organic matter to the soil.
For those needing further motivation to get out there and pick, here’s the kicker. Strawberries are delicious AND nutritious (don’t tell the kids). Strawberries contain high amounts of vitamin C (antioxidant), as well as iron. They have been used by some to treat anemia, joint disease, and to strengthen the circulatory system and help balance hormones. Strawberries are also a great source of pectin. Pectin is a soluble fiber that may lower cholesterol. Strawberries are also anti-inflammatory.
So folks, ready to get out your glass jam jars, buy some new snap lids, and organize your pals for a rip snorting day of picking and preserving? Teach your kids where the best jam comes from, how to load the whipped cream onto a strawberry shortcake, how to make and savour strawberry salad (recipe below), and strawberry wine (for the older ‘kids’). You may find you have created a new annual tradition for yourselves!
Strawberry Salad
Combine:
Leaf lettuce and Sliced Strawberries
Dressing
Mix together:
¼ c. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
½ Tbsp. poppy seeds
¼ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. worchester sauce
chopped green onion
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. vegetable oil