Medlars and Gogi and Chums -- Oh My!
from Small Farm Canada, May/June 2006

A Quebec farmer shares his strategies for thinking outside the box
by Julie Stauffer

For Ken Taylor, growing exotic produce isn't a big gamble -- in fact, it's cheaper and much less risky than growing acres of monoculture crops or raising livestock in an era of BSE and avian flu.

A long-time Quebec producer, Taylor says it's simply good business sense to focus on fruits and vegetables that bring higher profits, sell better, or demand less work. Here's how:

Avoid homegrown competition. Why go head to head with every other farmer at the local market with humdrum, low-margin produce? It's easier to undercut the high-end import market, and you can satisfy consumers' yen for exotic tastes at the same time.

For example, Asian pears thrive in a Canadian climate. On his farm on Ile Perrot, a half-hour drive from Montreal, Taylor grows more than 20 varieties. Turning a profit isn't hard when imported varieties go for $3.85 a pear at the supermarket.

Likewise, antioxidant-packed goji berries from China are commanding a hefty premium at health food stores across the country, but Taylor has discovered that once you get them started, they take little effort to grow here.

He also grows unusual northern fruit. Edible honeysuckle produces honeyberries -- inch-long fruit with a sweet, blueberry flavour that tolerate cold and ripen before strawberries. Chums are a cross between cherries and plums, yielding plum-sized fruit with pits as small as a cherry's.

Give yourself a break. Choose crops that are simple to grow, process, or store. For example, "Big Mama" mongo cherries don't ripen until the birds head south in September, so you can say goodbye to netting or scare guns. And medlar fruit are a lazy farmer's dream come true -- you don't need to pick them until they begin to rot.

On the other hand, Taylor is ripping out apple trees from his 70-acre property as fast as he can, because they're simply not worth the effort.

Park your produce. By choosing crops that store well, you can extend your retail season long after the frost hits. Taylor picked his yellow seedless watermelons in September and was selling them at his farm store right until Christmas. Likewise, he discovered that blue seedless grapes keep in a cold room for several months.

Some fruit you can leave on the vine, bush or tree well into winter, intensifying the flavour. Taylor's winter cranberries are a hit with one Montreal chef who loves the rich tartness they add to sauces. Taylor is also betting that Kenko pears, picked frozen, could be pressed into a fine "ice perry," similar to the ice cider produced in Quebec.

Don't forget about vegetables. Although storing carrots, potatoes and turnips is nothing new, how about tomatillos or black Spanish radishes?

Go for good looks. Taylor's heart-shaped walnuts or "heartnuts" were a big hit with chefs this Valentine's Day. Carrots now come in a rainbow of colours -- think purple, white and red varieties -- while beets can be golden yellow or candy-striped.

Bite-sized veggies also get attention. This year Taylor produced a colourful selection of toonie-sized sweet peppers that customers snapped up.

Throw out your zone maps. Taylor's windblown farm may officially be in Zone 4, but that doesn't deter him from growing everything from pomegranates to pecans.

The mulberry that he was told wouldn't survive outside of Zone 9 has been bearing fruit for 30 years. Like other living things, plants can adapt to their surroundings, he says. Especially with the vagaries of today's climate, it makes sense to plant a wide variety of species and see which ones thrive.

Just remember that not everything that grows successfully is a good commercial crop. For example, northern kiwis don't ripen at the same time, making harvesting a tricky business.

Follow the market. Today, 90 per cent of the food on Canadians plates is imported, says Taylor. Instead of sticking with the tried and true, why not grow the Asian pears, goji berries and seedless grapes that customers are demanding -- and reap the profits?