Ottawa's only saskatoon berry farm readies for bittersweet harvest
The Ottawa farmers who manage the city's only pick-your-own saskatoon berry patch have decided to call it quits and make this season's harvest their last.
The Ovens Berry Farm, which also produces strawberries and raspberries, has been in operation for 38 years. But after decades of toiling in the dirt, Ron and Maureen Ovens need a break.
"Unfortunately we've reached the age where we have to retire. Our bodies are saying slow down, and since our children aren't really interested in taking over, we have to close," Maureen, 70, told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning this week.
"I know it has to happen. ... But I'm going to miss all the customers. Some of them have become like friends. ... Am I going to miss it? I'm going to miss it like crazy. I'm going to miss having all these people visit."
'It's rewarding. It's been good to us'
The saskatoon berries take up half an acre of space at the farm, growing in eight rows, each about 120 metres long. The strawberries make the most money for the farm, but the saskatoon berries made sense to plant.
"We ... thought it'd be something to add because the harvest ... overlaps the strawberries and the raspberries, so it's something else to offer the public while they're here," said Ron, 69.
As far as the couple knows, after a saskatoon berry farm closed in Belleville, Ont., their Ovens Berry Farm is the only saskatoon berry operation east of Toronto. (A new farm is starting up in Belleville, they say.)
But while word of their farm keeps spreading — especially among people from the west, where saskatoon berry bushes grow wild — the Ovens are looking forward to travelling the country in their motorhome after having to keep their business open for 85 hours a week every summer for decades.
Ron said he's accepted that it's time to close, but he'll miss it a bit, too.
"We've seen three generations of people here now. Children who used to come with their parents, now they're coming with their children. It's rewarding. It's been good to us," he said.
And if the prospect of renting a saskatoon berry farm interests you, the Ovens would love to hear from you. But here are some things you should know first.
Saskatoon berry facts
- The bushes grow like hedges, getting taller and taller, so they need to be trimmed.
- Once planted, it takes three years for the bushes to start producing berries and seven years to begin full production.
- A bush will live about 35 years.
- A nice thing about the bushes is that they don't need a lot of water.
- Birds love them, so if you want a healthy crop, the bushes will need to be protected with nets or other devices to keep birds away.
- Saskatoon berry bushes are in the apple tree family, and the berries have little seeds inside.
- People either love them or hate them.
