Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter / Section d’Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais

Canadian Organic Growers

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From Flax to Linen: A Rewarding Journey

For many people retirement means more time for golf. For two women living near Pakenham. Ontario it meant starting on an unlikely journey of discovery – how to grow flax and transform it into linen fibre. Debra Bertrand and Louise Delorme planted their first modest flax garden in 2021. By 2025 this had grown to a field of flax involving a number of other interested growers. News of the project continues to spread through the efforts of these two active women.

Agritourism: Inviting the World to Your Farm

Agritourism is still a small but growing activity on organic farms in our region. You have a spare bedroom in the farmhouse, you enjoy talking to strangers, your partner is a great cook and you could use the extra cash to pay bills. But wait. What will attract city folk to your place? Who has time to attend to inquisitive tourists when you are both working flat out on the farm? And strangers in your bathtub? Before making a rash decision, talk to someone who has been there, done that. The folks at Springfield Farm near Apple Hill have developed a unique form of agritourism. Eleanor McGrath tells us about their experience.

Growing Organic Haskaps

For some it is the honeyberry, for others the blue honeysuckle, but by whatever name the haskap is gaining recognition in Canada as a superfood. This sweet/tart berry has more antioxidants than blueberries, more vitamin C than oranges, and is loaded with heart-healthy anthocyanins. In Japan it is called the elixir of life. You are not likely to find haskaps on store shelves yet and very few farmers in our region are growing them at scale. Thea Pratt is an exception. She has 2½ acres of haskaps in full production on her pick-your-own farm near Farrellton, Quebec. She tells us how she did it in this article.

Balancing Life and Logistics on the Organic Farm

There can be much joy in organic farming: seeing garlic break through the mulch in early Spring, watching pollinator insects happily gathering nectar from the squash plants and hearing the ‘best ever meat’ compliments from your happy customers. But things can also go south. Your farm worker quits in mid-season, your tractor just died, you are spending too little time with the kids and you don’t have a retirement fund. Jess Weatherhead walks us through their journey to find balance on the Roots and Shoots organic farm in this month’s Food for Thought article.