As a former horticulture instructor at Olds College, Allen Schernus
decided to practise what he was teaching.
That was 12 years ago. He and his wife, Norma, now run The Garden, an
85 acre market garden east of Calgary.
When Schernus decided to quit teaching, he sought a farm with
irrigated, Class 1 soil close to a major metropolitan area. He found it
all on a quarter section just off Glenmore Trail beside a Western
Irrigation District canal.
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“There’s not many pieces of land in Western Canada that meet all those
criteria,” he said on a walk around the farm.
“I concluded the Calgary region was the place to be. There are nearly a
million people here and essentially no competition.”
Large market gardens are more prevalent in the Edmonton area because
the climate is more predictable.
This year has been a weather challenge for The Garden, starting with a
cold snowy spring, record heat in July and a temperamental August. The
weather has always been the major obstacle for him with chinook winds
in winter, cold summer nights and a short growing season.
“For the first year in four or five years we are going to get a
reasonable raspberry crop because the chinooks kill our canes every
year,” he said.
The garden opens in mid-July with the first crops of early peas and
strawberries. When the gates open at 9 a.m., there is a lineup of cars
full of antsy people who want to get into the fields.
“About 98 percent is U-pick. There is a demand for product on the shelf
and we may have to get more into pre-picked. We are dealing with the
urban consumer that is in a hurry and doesn’t necessarily want to make
the effort to pick it themselves.”
Fresh off the vine is a major sales feature. The produce tastes better,
it’s pesticide free and people know where it came from. Other customers
simply like to come to a garden for fun.
“To a very large degree we are also selling the entertainment
associated with attaining that product,” Schernus said.
Considerable work has been devoted to creating a pleasing landscape
with a snack bar,
picnic space and strolling areas.
“It becomes a whole country experience that people are after and that
is marketable,” he said.
While entry to the garden is free of charge, admission may be
introduced in the future where people pay to enter or receive coupons
redeemable for produce.
In addition to the gardens, there are
U-pick flowers, a stocked trout pond and shady areas to enjoy an ice
cream cone.
The garden is open Tuesday to Sundays. People are supplied with
harvesting materials and may pick whatever they like. Most product is
sold by the pound.
“Our big flood of customers is typically July 20 to Aug. 25.
Essentially we make a year’s income in five weeks.”
At the peak of the season, about 1,000 people arrive daily.
The Garden has 20 acres of strawberries, 1,000 rhubarb plants, 20
different vegetables and private allotments.
The allotments are a unique idea that came about in the mid 1990s. A
group of senior citizens lost their garden plots in the city and
approached him to rent some land. Over time, he took over the plot
rentals. He started with 35 lots but they now number 240.
“I can see five years from now, we’ll have 500 plots here. This year we
increased almost 40 percent over last year,” he said.
Each plot is 7.5 sq. metres and rents for $50 a season. They are
rototilled in the spring, marked off with string and turned over to
gardeners who harvest about $1,000 worth of produce each summer. Plots
are watered from the irrigation system twice a week.
A greenhouse may be the next project. Bedding plants and hothouse
products have potential if the family and staff have the time.
“We only have so much enthusiasm and energy. We’re just about maxed out
on both,” Schernus said.
