NS Organic Farmers

Wild Rose Farm

Photos to come!

“Watching peoples’ kids grow up on organic food is a big motivation for me,” says Gilberte Doelle, of owner and operator of Wild Rose Farm in Digby County, NS, whose kids helped her out in the garden from an early age, “I would be out there working on the gardens and my children would be with me with their Tonka Trucks,” she laughs.

Gilberte decided to become an organic grower when she was pregnant with her first of four children.  “I knew I didn’t want my children to be exposed to chemicals in their food,” she says.
 
Beginning as experienced gardeners, Gilberte and her husband, Siegmar, started seriously growing and selling their own food in 1995. It wasn’t until 1998 however, that Wild Rose Farm was born and became the only certified organic farm in Digby County.

“We named it Wild Rose Farm because when we first bought land, the soil was so depleted that all we could grow was wild roses,” Gilberte laughs. They’ve since outgrown the original property, and have moved to a 15-acre farm featuring a “million dollar view” of the St. Mary’s Bay.  The wild roses grow just as readily at their new location, and they have worked hard to develop the soil.  The new farm does have a shoreside location, which works to their advantage as it offers warmer temperatures and later frosts, providing natural season extension for their veggies.

Wild Rose Farm specializes in culinary herbs, dried herbs and leafy greens. “Around here I’m known as ‘the salad green queen,’” says Gilberte. “The big seller at the market these days are the non-lettuce salad greens. Things like swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, etc, which we grow in abundance, so it works well for us!”

An advocate of permaculture and French-Intensive growing practices, Gilberte, who is also a former graduate of the NSAC, believes these techniques increase the farm’s efficiency, with less soil disturbance and weed pressure. She builds raised beds with compost and has also transitioned most of their annual herb production to perennials. Additionally, companion planting has worked well to deter pests and diseases while maximizing the use of their market-garden space.

In addition to occupying market stands between Yarmouth and Annapolis Royal, as well as regular restaurant deliveries, Wild Rose also operates the longest running CSA in the area. Beginning in 2006, this “small but mighty” CSA currently serves twenty shares from early June thru September, with maximum capacity of 40.

After years of experimentation, in 2011 Wild Rose is now offering a selection of organic herbal teas, featuring mixes of mint, fennel, lavender and lemon balm, among others. With four feature blends, the teas have already been hot sellers, with further production on the horizon.

“Besides the goal of simply surviving, selling teas is something I have always wanted to do,” Gilberte says.

Other recent developments at Wild Rose include a contract with Hope Seeds, a local organic seed company, to produce heritage beans and other specialty vegetables, as well as maintaining ever-expanding greenhouse production. 

Although being the only certified organic producer in the county is a little lonely sometimes, Gilberte says the knowledge that she is providing healthy, quality products to her clients is enough motivation to keep her passionate about
the business.

“The biggest motivation to continue what I’m doing is seeing so many direct benefits to providing local communities with healthy, organic food,” says Gilberte, “not to mention that I love doing it!”

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