TORONTO, Ont. — With just a small orchard and a northerly location, Matt Peredery’s apple business is small in scale but big on marketing.
The Sudbury, Ont., farmer attended the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, where she sold her An Apple A Day dehydrated chips for $5 a bag. Each bag weighs 20 grams, which is the equivalent of one medium-sized apple.
“I have five acres of apples and 27 varieties. They’re mostly dwarf and semi-dwarf trees,” Peredery said.
“I don’t spray at all if I can get away with it, and if I do it’s only once. It’s because of our northerly location.”
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Peredery uses mostly organic practices on her farm, which is 58 acres as well as adjacent crown land. The location falls within Zone 3 for hardiness.
She said the growing season starts about two weeks later and ends two weeks earlier than Toronto. The temperature fell to – 47 C last winter.
Peredery has planted her trees in sheltered locations and covers them with burlap in fall and spring. She’s been able to grow varieties such as Ambrosia and Mutsu, which are rated as Zone 5 for cold hardiness.
Sales at the Royal are just a yearly perk for Peredery. She sells most of her apples chips online and through retailers in Sudbury and the greater Toronto area.
The apples are just one aspect of her diverse business.
Peredery also raises heritage poultry, selling their fertilized eggs to customers across Canada.
She grows a wide variety of small fruit and vegetables and raises goats and cattle.
Even the wild pigeons that frequent her property are periodically harvested and sold to members of the area’s Italian community.
The pigeons are lured into the barn using her pet bird, Squib, and collected while they roost at night.
Peredery exploits the economic aspects of her animals, but she also delights in them.
She once trained polo horses and has ridden one of her cattle like a horse. She has also trained groups of chickens and geese to march in a figure 8 configuration before wide-eyed visitors to her farm.
“People underestimate animals. They are actually very, very smart,” she said. “I guess you could call me an animal whisperer.”
Peredery does most of the work on Willow Lane Farms, but also takes on volunteers through programs such as World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
