In Beachburg, local vegetables are just a walk away, with The Food Yard.
Jim Butterworth, who ran for Whitewater Council, and is a member of the Beachburg Agricultural Society and Beachburg Library Board, runs the Food Yard out of his home on 21 Watchorn. Dr., providing fresh vegetables for the local area.
“We harvest the day of right now.” Butterworth said, who open their growing operation to local pickers on Wednesday and Sunday morning from 9am until noon.
“We did our research, and we found that most people prepare their meals for the week on Sundays.” he said, saying they intended to provide “a market garden you can walk to in Beachburg.”
“Just before dinner, you can walk over and get your vegetables.” he said.
Among available crops were yellow radishes, and honey dew
He said prices begin at $2-3 and go up from there. He also makes a CSA basket offered at $330 with local foodstuffs.
He said their prices are comparable to other larger gardens, but their proximity to Beachburg homes provided unique ease for the hamlet’s residents.
This will be Butterworth’s fourth year doing the food yard, with COVID-19 allowing him to expand his operation due to being home “despite three kids”.
“This is our first year doing the community support basket.” he said.
The said he that they set up their irrigation to collect water in an artisan well, circulating it into the nearby stream to keep it in their system. “We’re running irrigation constantly.” he said.
His method of irrigation was called ‘zippering’ which had plastic sheets seal together over the soil to allow the plants to grow through the seams, preventing moisture from escaping the soil.
“It warms it up, too.” he said. “We use the plastic for 100% blockage, but we open it up a bit for the worm.”
Butterworth originally ran for council on a platform of “life expectancy and higher quality of life in the Whitewater Region.”
Near the road, he uses wood chips from Arborous Tree Service, a local business, to keep the moisture in the ground.
“We’re working with the community.” he said.
He said their method makes better use of the soil and water.
“We’ve watered it twice and it’s rained twice.”
He said he planned to maintain continuous growing across the year.
“We’ve set up all the beds for harvest dates.” he said. “I should have raspberries from June all the way through October.”
He said demand for fresh local vegetables and fruit skyrocketed due to the pandemic that began in March of 2020.
“Grant Dobson at Connaught Nursery sold 90% of his produce in the first month.” he said.
“Giving back to the community, we’ve talked to the food bank and the senior’s task force. We’re trying to connect with them”
“Not only are we doing a shout-out to local areas, we try to shop locally, to prevent the spread of COVID, but also the keep the money local
“Usually I have another job. I’d go around Canada, and teach online courses.” he said. “There’s a couple running, but nobody is really very excited.”
