The Simpkins Market Garden on the South Saskatchewan River just north of Saskatoon is now working with its fourth generation of the family.
George and Audrey Simpkins, the third generation on this farm, work with their two sons and daughter.
“We’ve shrunk it quite a bit from my parents’ time,” said George Simpkins of the 12 to 15 acres that are planted each year. Among the crops they grow are eggplants, green peppers, potatoes, carrots and more than half an acre of cabbage.
“One thing we didn’t have much success with is rutabagas. That’s because of the root maggot.”
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Simpkins said the insect pest is now a problem in cabbage.
However, he doesn’t spray them because the chemical control is “a pretty toxic substance.”
For another pest, the cabbage butterfly worm, he uses synthetic pyrethroids and the biological control Dipel. He called the past summer astonishing in its large numbers of butterflies. He speculated that the wet spring reduced summerfallow in area fields so more butterfly eggs were able to hatch.
Simpkins, who has been growing vegetables since the early 1960s, said the main change over that time is the selling process. He used to sell his produce wholesale to grocers, but switched to the Saskatoon farmers’ market when it started in 1975.
He said the farmers’ market means more work harvesting and washing the vegetables, hauling them to the market and talking with customers, but the margins are better since it cuts out the middleman.
“We used to run a farmgate but (traffic) kind of dwindled down after Sunday shopping started.”
The Simpkins have regular customers who look forward to their cabbages, especially in the fall for making cabbage rolls for the holiday seasons. They used to hand out cooking instructions and at one time the farmers’ market printed a recipe book.
The Simpkins grow several varieties of cabbage that mature at different times of the year and are used fresh, for pickling or storage. Some varieties hold up better in the fields while others split under the hot sun. They stopped growing Chinese cabbage because it is more susceptible to insect pests.
Simpkins suggests anyone wanting to grow cabbage should choose plants with an open growth habit that have base leaves and hold their heads high. That may prevent the root maggot from getting too far up the stem.
The Simpkins start all their plants in their greenhouse and set them out as transplants.
“It doesn’t pay to start too early. The plants get leggy.”
And if the insects are flying, “it’s a judgment call” as to when to put the transplants out.
