Ted Wiggans, the organic gardening shepherd, wants to make good, healthy food available to all, “I don’t think organic food should be a luxury item. I would really like to see good, healthy, non-harmful foods available to everyone.”
Ted Wiggans dedicated his life to farming after earning a master’s degree earlier in life in Criminology and working in corrections for 22 years. Ted’s interest in gardening was broadened during his former career and he began farming on the side in 1981. Through experimentation with different crops Ted attempted to produce enough food for the family to be self-sufficient. After initially raising beef cattle, Ted currently focuses on sheep and his array of vegetables. In 1994, Ted followed his life’s true calling and, with the help of his wife, friends and 4 children, became a full-time farmer. Since then, Ted has been dedicated and hard at work on the farm!
Ted’s wife, Louise, is also a formidable force, helping out with much of the farm labour, record keeping and filing. Louise is a full-time elementary school teacher at McAdam elementary school and has the summers off to become a full-time farmer along with Ted.
Shepherd’s Garden’s specialize in swiss chard, onions (both large white Spanish onions and large red onions) and summer squash, specifically, courgettes: small, often brightly coloured summer squash such as patty pans, miniature banana squash, or striped zucchini. Shepherd’s Garden also grows and mixes a flavourful salad mix!
Currently, Shepherd’s Gardens sells at the Fredericton Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, as well as the St. Andrews market on Thursday. Any leftover produce is sold at True Food Organics in downtown Fredericton.
Shepherd’s Garden produces their own vermicompost, one of the richest sources of compost, on site; thus, their soil is top quality. This came about as a government experiment that Shepherd’s Garden was lucky to be a part of: he now has the most nutrient rich compost for his veggies, as well as his own sheep manure!
Hard working, passionate, knowledgeable and of course, friendly, Ted Wiggans is a professional farmer with aspirations to make good, healthy food a staple in everyone’s diet!
Shepherd's Garden - Sell Sheet
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Product
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Description
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Availability
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| Basil |
Italian |
July until Mid-September
|
| Beans |
Green, purple, yellow & snap. |
Mid-July to September
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| Black currents |
|
Mid-July
|
| Carrots |
|
Mid-July to end of October
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| Cooking onions |
|
Third week in August until December
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| Italian Parsely |
|
First of August until end of October
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| Kale |
Winter Bore |
Mid-September to end of November.
|
| Leeks |
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September to October
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| Rhubarb |
|
May to Mid-June
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| Salad mix |
Mixture of 5-6 different lettuces with arugula and mezzuna. |
Mid-July to end of November
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| Spinach |
|
Mid-September to end of November.
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| Summer squash |
Including green zuchinni, patty pan squash, yellow crookneck, cousa summer squash (a light green more rounded summer squash) |
Mid-July to Mid-September
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| Sweet onions |
Ailsa Craig variety is an extra large sweet white onion, with a pleasant, mild taste. Shepherd's Gardens also grow a variety called "Greek Salad" which is a pungent large red onion. |
Mid-August to end of October
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| Swiss chard |
Both colourful rainbow swiss chard and bright green traditional chard. |
First of July till Mid-October
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Shepherd's Garden is interested in custom growing opportunities. Contact them for further information. |
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