ABERDEEN, Sask. – Mary Uzelman and Kevin Porfoun have split their life in two. On one side is a quiet time with nature and on the other is a business abuzz with hungry people.
Their orchard on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River produces the fruit that they turn into muffins, scones and desserts to go along with specialty coffees and teas they serve from their portable concession stand.
Uzelman and Porfoun’s pie wagon has been a regular at the Sask-atoon Farmers’ Market for the past three years. They also sell at special events such as family reunions, music festivals and sports and cultural events.
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The couple owned a flooring store in Saskatoon but grew tired of the business and decided to travel for a year while they talked about their next venture. A little farm was their answer but location was the issue.
When Uzelmann’s mother became ill in 2001, they ended up staying in Saskatoon. They went looking for land and found a spot near Aberdeen, 30 kilometres east of the city.
“It was a bare flat 80 acres with canola growing on it,” Porfoun said, joking it is worth less than a combine.
It also took a while to develop the farm from planting to harvest. Some of the fruit bushes are just coming into production after five years of tending, while others were bearing after two years.
Porfoun added that while their land was affordable when they bought it, if they had to do it over again they probably would buy an established orchard.
Manual labour is a big part of their operation, whether it be planting, weeding, watering or picking.
They now have 15 acres in fruit plantations, many of them prairie varieties, especially ones developed by the University of Saskatchewan and reproduced from tissue culture at Prairie Plant System near Saskatoon.
They are also members of the Saskatchewan Fruit Growers Association.
Cherry Lane Orchard is irrigated by water from the river, which required a permit from Sask Water and a lot of work on the steep riverbank to bury the water lines. Each spring Porfoun carries the 45 kilogram water pump down to the river and each fall he totes it back up for winter storage.
But the river location has been wonderful, they say, with beautiful views and wildlife.
“We’re raising ducks and deer,” Porfoun said with a smile. “We plant enough. They can eat and we take what’s left.”
Enjoy wildlife
Uzelman said they considered naming their land Pelican Landing Orchard because of the flocks of the birds drawn to the river.
Picking so far has been done with the help of friends and family, who are paid with fruit. However, the size of the operation could soon outstrip that cosy arrangement.
They have 4,500 saskatoon berry bushes, 3,100 cherries, 400 raspberry plants and 30 black currant bushes. They have also planted rhubarb and haskap, also called blue honeysuckle.
For the first four winters, the pair found seasonal jobs in British Columbia to help finance the orchard and Porfoun has also taken on summer work, which means less time to look after the orchard.
“I’m really a bad farmer. I’m like Green Acres,” he said with a smile, referring to the 1960s TV comedy about city folk trying to farm. Uzelman affirmed that, pointing to the gaps in some rows where Porfoun has hit bushes with his machinery.
She added that soon after planting their first bushes they came up with the idea of selling pies to use up the fruit, which eventually resulted in buying a trailer to offer politically correct Fair Trade coffee and other beverages as well as pies and sweets to go with them.
“For a three day event we make 100 pies. We’re using the Aberdeen community hall because it has a commercial kitchen,” Uzelman said.
For the weekly farmers’ market she will make five pies but add different treats that other baking vendors don’t have.
She experiments with recipes and takes advice from regular customers.
Porfoun said his favourite customer was a 12-year-old boy at a music festival who in response to Porfoun’s sales pitch about having the best pie retorted that his grandmother made the best pies in the world. Nonetheless, he bought a slice, came back for three more during the day and eventually confessed that his grandmother’s pie was No. 2.
“We’re right on a cusp,” said Porfoun. “To this point we’ve used all the berries we’ve grown. Next, we’ll try either a U-pick or some other marketing” to use up the excess.
They figure they will be at the farmers’ market for the next decade. Uzelman added that it may be even longer before they retire the trailer because there are so many vendors who are 20 years older than them still coming out each Saturday.
Added Porfoun: “It’s good fun. We’ll quit when they throw us out.”
