By Will McGuirk
If you don’t have the ability to grow your own “victory garden” then getting regular deliveries of fresh in-season local fruits and veggies is the next best option.
Lunar Rhythm Gardens are based in Janetville, ON. and they service the Kawarthas and areas of north/east Durham Region. The organic farm is run by Jessica Foote and her family as a CSA, (community shared agriculture). In a CSA, members pre-order a share in the spring, summer and/or winter harvest. Each share contains organic vegetables, farm-raised meats and eggs and local honey, baked goods, preserves and more! Lunar Rhythm Gardens offer online ordering with “curbside pickup” at the farm. They also deliver. Farmers markets were once an option but of course they are hold at the moment.
Slowcity.ca wanted to know more:
Slowcity.ca: Can you give me some background on you and the farm, some history?
Jessica Foote: “Lunar Rhythm Gardens has been a lifetime in the making. I grew up on the family farm working with my dad, since I could walk. I knew as a little girl that I was going to be a farmer. My parents raised pigs from farrow to finish, and shipped cream on our home farm, at 253 Gray Rd. until I was about 9 years old. However, with the introduction of the quota system, Dad choose to get out of dairy, rather than invest in quota and major renovations in the barn. I was one mad little girl, cows were my first love especially the black and white ones, but I was too young to take over! Anyhow, we changed over to a cow calf operation, raised market hogs, and I started my own business with 25 laying hens.
I kept the chickens till I went to college, and was introduced to horse logging at sixteen. We had our bush logged by a gentlemen named Art Shannon who practices sustainable forestry with horses, Arbor North and I loved it. I was familiar with horses, having grown up riding and owning one myself, and had no problems learning how to drive the gentle giants. I logged for 4 years, I loved it but knew it didn’t jive with farming. I was never home and travelled a lot. I wanted to farm with horses instead, people thought I was nuts! Around that time I was convinced by some friends to attend a ploughing workshop in St.Thomas, Ontario, with Ken Laing. Once I had visited Orchard Hill Farm, and saw their CSA vegetable operation I knew that was the kind of operation I was going to have. After logging, I spent six years working in dairy, part-time while going to college, then full-time as a herdsperson in Guelph for 2.5 years; during which time I attended Ken Laings three day draft horse workshop, and purchased Torque, my first draft horse.
In the spring of 2008 I quit my job at the dairy farm in Guelph, took a farm business management course, a 3 month internship at Orchard Hill Farms, travelled to Europe (I knew the vacations were few and far between when you had your own farming operation), and purchased my second draft horse (Calvin, 4 years old and untrained.) I had a business plan in hand and I knew what I wanted, but still didn’t know were, or with whom I was going to be farming. I headed home after my internship and rented 10 acres of land from a neighbour, and in 2008 Lunar Rhythm Gardens prepared the land for spring planting.
Even the best workers get tired
Winter 2008/2009 saw us training our team of draft horses Calvin, Peg, and Torque, delving into business planning, and ordering seeds. Summer 2009 saw us sell our first CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) basket and attend a local start up market in Port Perry, Ontario.
Fast forward to 2020 and we are purchasing the family farm and growing 20 acres of certified vegetables. Every growing season I am even more passionate about the endeavors at Lunar Rhythm Gardens. As the farm has grown, so has the community that surrounds it.
SC: When did you initiate foodshare and why?
JF: “I started in 2009 with 90 shares and 1 market in Port Perry”
SC: How many customers do you currently have and where do you distribute?
JF: “I am uncertain of my exact number of customers as I do some wholesale. This year we are increasing our CSA to 200 members to adapt to the new circumstances surrounding Covid1-9 and markets. I distribute to Port Perry, Lindsay, Bowmanville, Brooklin, PTBO, Lakefield”
SC: What are the challenges you have overcome and foresee during this pandemic time, what sort of issues are you coming across on delivery, farmers markets setups, hiring employees for fieldwork?
JF: “We are running into many hurdles. Our entire model was based on market style, now we are prepackaging, and taking online orders regularly. Many items we get just for day to day supplies are back ordered and or not available. All of our markets where located on public property so they are currently on hold till at least July. My migrant labour is not available for the start of the season as the Mexican government closed before all the work permits where issued. So we are training new staff, recruiting some old staff laid off from none essential services and basically creating a staff from scratch while trying to get a crop in the field!
Labor costs are going to sky rocket and we where not prepared for this style of delivery and it is totally off track of the business plan I was going into the season with!”
SC: Someone considering foodshares for the first time may not be used to best cooking usage for the produce - do you provide recipes, how-tos, or any other helpful guides along with the produce?
JF: “We offer a customized share program. And there is a recipe included in the weekly emails from time to time. WE suggest looking new veg up online and searching Epicurious for ideas. My website lunargardens.ca also has a few recipes posted. There will definitely be some new and unusual veggies in a share, but the unknown is also part of the excitement of a farm share program. You often find new favorite foods that you normally would not have tired if you hadn't gone out of your comfort zone!”
