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EVENT RECAP: JONATHAN’S FARM AND HNATIUK MARKET GARDEN FARM TOUR

On July 6th, Young Agrarians (YA) gathered with apprentices and vegetable lovers at two beautiful market gardens just northeast of Winnipeg, Jonathan’s Farm and Hnatiuk Market Gardens. Both are seasoned farms running CSA’s (Community Support Agriculture) for their communities. During the farm tour, we had a sneak peak at their production practices.

Jonathan and his apprentice, Hannah, toured us through five acres of gardens and three  greenhouses. They are starting to implement a cover crop in the pathways to help keep the soil covered, retain moisture and add nutrients. We started to see the devastating effects of the Colorado potato beetles, which are ravaging potato crops in this hot and dry year. Hannah and the other staff at Jonathan’s Farm get to practice their tennis skills in the potato patch by hitting the beetles off plants into buckets. Jonathan and Hannah also showed us the ditch that was dug for helping to drain the wet fields and the extensive irrigation system that is essential on dry years like this one. They have a wide variety of veggies that they sell through a CSA and at the Wolseley Farmer’s Market, which Jonathan started almost ten years ago.

Over at Hnatiuk Market Gardens, Graham and his dad Martin showed off their zero-till garden site. Their family also grows field crops on more acres of rented land. Over the last eight years, they have experimented with different iterations of the zero-till model. So far in this journey, they are very impressed with how this model improves the health of the soil, the plants, and the amount they can grow in each vegetable bed. Their yields have increased and they are monitoring the soil.

Both Jonathan’s Farm and Hnatiuk Garden’s are adding more microbial life to their soils through compost tea, microbial foliar sprays, and other biological products. John Kempf’s work has been helpful in their studies. Hnatiuk Garden’s also run a CSA, sell wholesale, and is at East St. Paul’s Farmer’s market on Sundays.

Thanks so much to both farms for hosting us!

HOST FARMS INFO

Website: jonathansfarm.com
Instagram: instagram.com/jonathansfarm
Facebook: facebook.com/jonathansfarm/

Website: hnatiukgardens.ca
Instagram: instagram.com/hnatiukgardens/
Facebook: facebook.com/hnatiukgardens/

This public event is part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program (YAAP), which  matches energetic new entrants with paid opportunities on farms. These farms are committed to helping train the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Farmers and apprentices participating in the program are invited to learn more about agriculture through networking and community building events like this one.

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