ROSEAU RIVER, Man. – Lynda Maynard plants her garden by moonlight, uses crushed fossils to combat potato bugs, and allows deer in her vegetable plots even if it means losing the odd row of plants during the summer.
Maynard has never used chemicals in her garden and has built a niche for herself as a producer of organic vegetables and fruit.
“I grow everything from A to Z,” said Maynard, a nimble woman already well tanned from weeks of tending her garden this spring.
Maynard began gardening as a child, learning much of what she knows from her grandmother.
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The love of gardening remained with her after she left home, married and moved to Roseau River in southeastern Manitoba a decade ago.
Her garden started as a small plot dug by her husband Jacques. That plot soon grew and Maynard found herself with a bounty of vegetables to share with family and friends.
Her husband suggested she start selling some of her produce instead of giving it away. Maynard took the advice and her market garden soon took root.
She found that growing enough produce wasn’ t a problem. The challenge was attracting customers.
“At the beginning, you have to sell yourself,” Maynard said. “You really have to sell yourself because (the customers) don’ t know you.”
Maynard was working in Winnipeg when she started her organic fruit and vegetable operation, which meant commuting three hours a day.
She had a young son and wanted to spend more time with him. The market garden offered a way to do that while still earning income.
“It was a good move on my part, and a selfish one. I wanted to be home more.”
The market garden continued to grow and in 1994, Jatlyn Gardens was certified organic.
Today, the vegetable garden covers an acre and her raspberry orchard takes up more than an acre.
Maynard markets part of her produce in local communities and in Winnipeg.
She also has regular customers who stop by throughout the summer. They include cottagers who flock from Winnipeg to enjoy the tranquility of rural life.
Families can pay a fee that guarantees them a box of vegetables weekly for about 13 weeks. The fee for a family with four children is $375.
Maynard’ s raspberry orchard is planted to a fall variety named Double Delight. It’ s mowed in fall and grows back in time to bear fruit the following August.
Soil between the raspberry rows is tilled, but no herbicides are used to control the grass that emerges among the canes. The grass poses no problem, however, since the raspberry plants grow rapidly and soon starve the grass of sunlight.
People can pick raspberries from the orchard for $10 a pail or buy them already picked for $18 a pail.
Added revenue comes from the sale of raspberry jelly, which Maynard makes herself. In a typical year she prepares 30 dozen, 370 millilitre jars of jelly, which sell for $5.25 each.
“The jelly is done in the winter time and sold the following year. It usually takes me two weeks to get that all done.”
Maynard seems unperturbed by the local deer. Rather than building fences or applying sprays that deer find offensive, she simply plants extra rows of vegetables that deer like to nibble. The Swiss chard and lettuce are planted at the outer edges and help lure deer away from the rest of the garden.
Maynard planted her garden this year on Wednesday, June 6, under the light of the moon. She typically plants in June. Just before the full moon, she plants the vegetables that will bear fruit below ground such as potatoes, carrots and beets. Just after the full moon, she plants the vegetables that will bear fruit above ground, such as tomatoes, melons and beans.
“This was something my grandmother taught me many, many years ago.”
Maynard was skeptical at first. Now she is convinced that her grandmother was right. Her vegetables germinate better and the plants seem hardier, she said during a visit earlier this month.
“It does make a difference. I’ m a firm believer in that.”
Maynard is not a diehard opponent of chemicals. In the winter, she buys whatever vegetables she needs from store shelves.
However, she is surprised by how much demand there is for her organic produce. Many of her customers are sensitive to chemicals and have trouble finding produce grown without pesticides.
The organic orchard and vegetable garden now account for at least half of her annual income. She adds to that income by doing home care in the winter.
