Open Farm Days is an annual event, which launched last year, designed to share Saskatchewan agriculture stories by bringing people together through educational and experiential agricultural-based initiatives. The idea is to learn more about where your food comes from.
The second Saskatchewan Open Farm Days will take place on August 9 and 10 at farms and agricultural businesses across the province. It’s an initiative of Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, a coalition linking thousands of livestock, crop and horticulture producers, government, individuals and businesses with a common goal to help people understand food and farming.
Open Farm Days visits are an invitation to the public to select from a variety of locations and operations to explore. One of those farms is Golden Eden Produce just outside of Burr, Saskatchewan, south of Humboldt.
Golden Eden Produce is a family-run farm that transitioned from field crops like wheat and canola to fresh produce, including peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The farm’s greenhouse covers 2/3 of an acre, allowing them to offer locally grown, non-GMO, and chemical-free food to most of Saskatchewan.
Maureen Saretsky is the head grower, and she took Discover Humboldt on a tour of the advanced greenhouse operation and packing plant. Every aspect of the layout has been carefully managed right down to creating shelter belts of certain types of tomatoes that provide shade for others.
Pest control is achieved without organic sprays by introducing predatory species of insects that destroy damaging factors like aphids or thrips. Even the medium for plant growth is cutting edge, relying on fibres and nutrient sources other than soil.
“That’s actually cocoa fibre,” Saretsky explains. “These are the mushed-up hulls of the outside of the coconut. This block is actually rock wool for insulation.” Rock wool is a fibrous type of material derived from superheated rock.
Moisture is provided by drip irrigation systems, and the nutrients are provided by mined minerals including potash and nitrogen. All of the crops are started from seed making the operation virtually a year-round one. While production is dependent on seasonal sunlight resulting in a seasonal period of little or no yield, there is always something going on in the operation.
Golden Eden packages its own produce using state-of-the-art equipment and a hard-working staff of 17 people, all local. The producer ships products across the province to major centres like Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, but also to smaller retail markets such as Humboldt and Wynyard.
The operation is a remarkable agricultural gem that provides the highest quality local produce that provides jobs and an economic impact for the region.
Changing taste and food choices that come with a shifting demographic have led the Saretsky’s to branch into other products, most notably peppers. Thai chilis, habaneros and jalapenos are in increasing demand. Labuyo peppers, a staple in the Philippines, are also a new offering.
Despite the smoke laden skies this year, which have affected sunlight concentration, Golden Eden continues to offer high quality and delicious produce to meet an increasing demand.
Saretsky talked about the operation’s connection with Open Farm Days and her belief in educating people about where their food comes from.
“Open Farm Days in Saskatchewan is an amazing project – to be able to bring people to the farm so they can see where their food actually comes from. It is a revelation to me to have people come in here and not realize that certain bugs you take for granted as being ‘good’ bugs, then you find out some people have been squishing them because they were never taught.”
Much of the pest control in Saretsky’s greenhouse employs natural pest controls and pollinators like ladybugs and bees.
“The biggest concern I have and the reason I was excited to get involved in Open Farm Days when they announced it last year is that there is such a major disconnect with people and understanding where their food comes from.”
Saretsky was flabbergasted to read a survey completed by people who were categorized as meat eaters, who were also in a vast majority when it came to a movement to shut down slaughterhouses.
“Where do they think their meat comes from?” Saretsky mused.
To find out more about Open Farm Days on August 9 and 10 , or to register for a visit at Golden Eden Produce or one of the other affiliated farms, head to the Open Farm Days website.