18
|
SUMMER
2015
Over the courseof thenext twoyears, thearrangementwent frombuying
overflowproduce, to theneighboursactuallygrowing specifically forRoy.
Then, anew ideawashatched— togiveeach restaurant theirownplot.As
more restaurantscameonboard,ordersbecamemorevariedwithchefs re-
questingproduce that the Loves hadn’t grownbefore.Ordering the seeds
throughorganicandheirloomcatalogues,Roybegan introducingnewva-
rieties of vegetables to his neighbours, who up until that point had only
grown heirloom varities that hadbeen passeddown fromgeneration to
generationwithin their families.
Withnewplanscameanew learningcurve. Roywas insistent that hispart-
nersgrowhisway—naturally. Roy’l Acresproductsaregrownusingonly
organicpracticesand they strive tooperatewith sustainablemethods—no
herbicides,pesticides, fungicides,neonicitoidsorchemicalsofany typeare
used. Period.
It didn’t take the Love’sMennonite neighbours long to figure out how to
grow thenew varieties andusing their traditional techniques, thegardens
flourished.Andwith their seedsavingknowhow, thesenewvarietiesmight
just becomepart of theirgrowingpractices forgenerations tocome.
The individualplot idea isabigsuccess,andallowschefs tocustomize their
owngardenplot suited to their individualmenusand the farmersgrow them
for the specific restaurant usingonlyorganicpractises. “Chefs areable to
visit the farms, observe thegrowthof their produceandbe involved in the
whole farm to table process,” explains Roy. “During thewinter months I
meetwith thechefsandwegooveraseedcatalogue.Withseedsordered,
theplots areplannedout basedon howmuch each chef anticipates they
willuse throughout theseason. Thiswayplantingcanbestaggeredso there
isacontinuous supplyof fresh, healthyproduce.”
ESCARPMENT
®
feature
{
Our goal is to grow a variety of produce
that is natural, GMO free, pesticide free
and grown completelywithout
the use of chemicals.
