Access to a freeze-drying machine was a game changer for this business, which started as an orchard selling fresh fruit
Sharing the wealth of a bountiful harvest is second nature to those who garden, but doubly so for those who live in rural communities.
Wild Country Gardens in Wildwood, Alta., has gone steps beyond this sharing idea. With its line of freeze-dried products and preserves, most grown on their farm or sourced from neighbours, Paulette Sparks has been building up a catalogue of long-term storage items.
Sparks planted the orchard with a plan to sell the produce in 2010-11. Her first attempt to bring a product to market proved unsatisfactory, but then she got access to a large freeze-drying machine.
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Sparks says they tried freeze drying because it was seen as a new thing that didn’t use many additives.
“(We) just played around with it to see what our end product could be from freeze-drying versus dehydration.”
This proved to be a turning point.
While they continued to produce their line of jams, syrups and pickles, freeze-drying vegetables, fruits, candies and ice creams added a new income stream.
“The candies and ice cream right now are three-quarters of our business. It’s totally turned us around,” she says.
Created from pre-bought gummies and ice cream, these items are ready to eat out of the package, and have a sponge toffee texture.
With local stores stocking the freeze-dried candies and other items from Wild Country Gardens’ product line, Sparks is looking to work more with these businesses and their onsite store, while working less at farmers markets.
“It’s so much work and it takes us away from the farm too often.”
With new blue business signs on Highway 22, there has been a big increase in foot traffic that comes to shop at their store, attached to Sparks’ farmhouse, which is open upon request.
The freeze-dried foods — the popular candies or the fruits, vegetable and herbs — have a shelf life of 25 years. This is great news for long-term emergency-preparedness-minded individuals who would like to support the local economy while stocking up on essentials, and they can satisfy their sweet tooth too.
Wild Country Gardens also sells air-dried herbal tea, hemp oil and handmade lotions and soaps, and gets 90 percent of the botanical ingredients right from their farm.
Sometimes, they have to supplement ingredients from the wider community, such as the cabbages used in their sauerkraut and corn. In these cases, they buy from other local producers.
The hemp oil is bought from Manitoba Harvest because “they originated the legalizing of industrial cannabis or the industrial hemp. They were actually, back at the very start, the people who did all the work on it,” said Sparks.
Most of the work is done by Sparks and her husband. However, they use labour through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms and HelpX, organizations that provide travellers with free accommodations and meals in exchange for farm labour.
Sparks emphasised that the recipes for their line of preserves are generations old, passed down from her mother and grandmother.
In the future, Sparks said they are looking to expand even further.
“We feel that we’re going to have more time to grow our little bee herd now. We’re up to three hives now this year and we sell our honey just in our store. The nice thing about it is most of it’s from orchard fruit.”
