Four Seasons Farm
In
1980, Nancy and David Roberts moved to Nova Scotia and started growing
their own food. Their main motivation for gardening at the time
was their own passion for good food: “We wanted to eat well and weren’t
satisfied with what was available in the grocery stores, so we started
growing our own food”.
In 1992 Four Seasons Farm
started selling at the Halifax farmers market, but organic produce was
not in high demand at the time. Determined to make seasonal,
organic produce recognized as the quality product it is, David turned
his attention to chefs in the Halifax/Dartmouth area in 1994, offering
deliveries twice per week. The chefs and restaurants must have
been pleased with what was delivered, as David and Nancy’s venture has
grown from a backyard garden to providing for over forty-two
restaurants and hotels in Nova Scotia – which is their main
clientele. Later, in 2002, they returned to the Halifax Farmers
Market to serve a large customer base, which had grown out of a home
delivery service. Their now six-acre intensive operation, which they
claim, “expanded a little bit at a time,” includes long, outdoor beds,
and nine high tunnels of specialty vegetables plus a full range of
culinary herbs. Herbs are fresh-picked, cleaned and ready to flavour or
garnish.
The family, with a small crew of interns,
works especially hard to create the best possible salad mix. With over
thirty different varieties of greens mixed into seasonal concoctions
they lay claim to the most beautiful and delicious salad
combinations. The extensive washing and packing facility ensures
fresh, long-lasting product.
When asked “why organic?”
Nancy answers that “it just seemed like the right way to do things – we
didn’t even think about it that much.” But now, Four Seasons Farm,
organic from the beginning, has been certified for five years.
They
consistently deliver service and top quality products to their
customers with, as David describes it, “enough variety to provide for
your seasonal organic menu.” Innovative and experimental, they
have made a great success of promoting local and organic produce in
Nova Scotia. |
