YA Business Mentorship Network – Deeply Rooted Market Garden

Meet a Mentee: Deeply Rooted Market Garden

​​Deeply Rooted Market Garden began as a dream of two sisters to provide healthy, fresh food to their community. Lauren and Sally are a dynamic sister duo who farm on their small family plot of land, located just outside the summer village of Seba Beach, Alberta on Treaty 6 territory and the traditional lands of the Cree, Blackfoot and Nakota peoples. They  joined the Young Agrarian Mentorship Program this past winter and were fortunate to have been partnered with the knowledgeable Graham Sparrow of Sparrow’s Nest Organics as their mentor. 

Currently, Laur and Sal farm on less than 1 acre of land and produce a variety of over 30 vegetables and herbs, as well as grow a small selection of fresh and dried flowers. They have a honour based road-side farm stand, where in addition to selling their own produce, highlight other local producers including local eggs, honey, soaps, greeting cards, fresh flowers and organic BC fruit.  

Farming Roots

Our first memories of gardens were with the women in our lives. Childhoods were spent eating fresh garden peas, family meals were prepared from our Grandma’s gardens, and we spent summers helping our mother weed an echinacea garden she’d grown for tinctures, but what really inspired us to start farming was the desire for a closer relationship with the food we ate. 

We began “farming” about 3 years ago when we were in the height of Covid and fairly nervous regarding our community’s resilience on the international food system. Mixed with threats of a sickening population and a climate crisis, we decided growing healthy sustainable food that focused on regenerating the earth rather than depleting it, as a solution to the many problems we found so daunting. Not to mention, we had a heck of a lot more free time. We figured, worse comes to worse, at least we have healthy, nutrient dense food that can feed ourselves and our community. And so we jumped (head first) into the wonderful world of farming. Both growing up as city gals from Edmonton, we didn’t have much previous knowledge of what it took to be a farmer… but we quickly learned. And so, Deeply Rooted Market Garden grew out of our passion to provide people with healthy, fresh food, along with connecting with our community.

Harvesting Inspiration

Over the past 3 years we have learned most of what we know through (much) trial and error. We read lots, Gabe Brown’s Dirt to Soil introduced us to regenerative agriculture, Joel Salatin’s Folks This Ain’t Normal inspired us, and Jean-Martin Fortier’s The Market Gardener led us in crafting our small market garden skills. We were lucky to be awarded a scholarship through The Market Garden Institute (which course and material we would recommend) and we delved into educating ourselves further on small scale organic farming practices.  Mixed with many YouTube videos, such as NeverSink Farms, No-Till Growers and the No-Till Market Garden Podcast, we progressed our hands on skills to more technical ones.

Digging In

We invested our own personal money into compost, hand tools, trays, and grow lights, but we were also blessed with family and friends who were willing to lend helping hands (or two). Our community shared their time in creating our first garden. We used our Grandfather’s small John Deere Tractor to create our original garden beds and we adapted a stash of old garden hoses from the days that our Grandmother used to garden and our Grandfather prized his impeccable lawn. The days of maintaining an impeccable lawn have drifted as we tend to a garden more than grass (sorry Grandpa) but we remain appreciative of the gifts our community has shared with us. 

We had seen a variety of compelling stories regarding the practices of regenerative agriculture and how it gives back to the ecology of the land and helps to stabilize the local climate,  such as storing water, increasing biodiversity, and generating community spaces where people can create resiliency through community. We’re still in the initial stages of the garden and while we have dreams of storing larger amounts of rain water, integrating animals for fertilizing, and incorporating long-term perennials, we are currently keeping it relatively simple, blending traditional farming methods with the principles of regeneration. Specifically, we prioritize soil health by not spraying, mulching as much as we can, composting, and including green mulch and cover cropping.

Deepening Understanding and Connection

As our passion and skills for farming grew, we soon realized our need for a deeper understanding of the business side of farming. Through social media, we found out about the Young Agrarians Mentorship Program and were thrilled to know that a business program centered around farming was available and we quickly signed up. We hoped to gain a better understanding on book keeping practices, record keeping and knowing when to invest in equipment or labor. Essentially we had started a garden business  because of the love we have for food, but soon realized the long-term sustainability of a farm requires financial literacy. This year we hope to focus on improving efficiencies, creating a stronger work-life balance and creating strong record keeping systems.

We also know there’s no way we could’ve come as far as we have without the support and constructive feedback given to us from our community and clientele. We realize our farm can only thrive if it serves others and so it’s our goal to provide for our community in a way that really does look out for everyone’s interests. One thing we’ve really been able to witness since taking on the name of “farmers” is that within the farming community  people cheer for you and want to see other farmers succeed because when one rises we all rise.  So THANK YOU so much for your support in local agriculture, your interest in agriculture, and your desire to build a strong local food system. You are changing the world and we are so grateful for YOU.

To find out more about Deeply Rooted Market Garden:

Website: Deeplyrootedmarketgarden.ca
Instagram: @deeplyrooted_ab