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ANDREW COPPOLINO andrewcoppolino@gmail.com FARM HANDS WORKING THE LAND AT JARDIN BOULAY GARDEN For her part, Boulay stresses the impor- tance of her farmhands for helping the farm tend the fields and sell the resulting produce at their market stand at the corner of Laurier and Giroux streets in downtown Rockland starting again in a couple of weeks. she was 18 but took over the farm when her parents passed away -- which she has built up over the years. The market stand has been operating on the space they rent on Laurier Street since 2010.
Amid the 100 acres of farm in Saint- Pascal-Baylon, a few minutes outside Rockland, I see and hear a group of farm hands pounding stakes into the ground for a trellis system on which will grow cucamelons. Also, known as “mouse melons,” the grape-sized fruits look like tiny, cute water- melons and are one of dozens of crops growing at Jardin Boulay Garden, owned by .BSZ-ZOO#PVMBZ The work of pounding the stakes is cer- tainly not cute in the blasting sun of the day, however. Atop the ladder, Olivia Romeo wields a heavy maul with sister Sophia Romeo and Jardin Boulay Garden co-farmer Stephane Berube – Boulay’s husband – holding the ladder steady. What is perhaps unique about the Romeo sisters, who live a only a country-lane or two away from the farm, is that they love the work of farming, though they have real no real interest in becoming farmers: Olivia, 21, is a university psychology student, while Sophia, 22, works at an area grocery store. Young farm hands working the land The pair, who have worked the farm for several years, simply love tending to the fields and crops and helping grow food that the community eats. I admire their work ethic in the blasting sun and humidity. “I like working hard. It’s rewarding,” Olivia says, with Sophia agreeing. “And at the stand selling, there’s the social aspect and getting to see different people from the community. It’s good relationships.” With small family farms being consolida- ted into larger corporate entities and with fewer kids wanting to take over the family business of agriculture, it’s encouraging to see young people like the Romeos – essen- tially Gen Zs – caring about how their food grows and where it comes from.
“They are very good workers. They’re out here working hard and giving it their all. I depend on them,” Boulay says. The farm grows blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, tomatoes and just started cherries. Standing over a field of green spiky leaves, Boulay hands me a fresh garlic scape from a hardneck garlic plant: I snap off a piece and the aroma of garlic released is immediate. “I’ll be cutting them this weekend,” she says. “All the energy and water then leaves the scapes and goes to the garlic bulbs.” /FBSUIFIPVTF BIBOEGVMPGBQQMFUSFFT will produce the popular Honeycrisp and the WFOFSBCMF.D*OUPTI BNPOHPUIFSWBSJFUJFT A few metres from the greenhouse, where the season’s crops get their start as tiny sprouts in little plastic trays, is a peach tree with small cucamelon-sized peaches just starting to appear. “I plant them, water them and transplant UIFN"GUFSUIBU *IBWFUPSFMZPO.PUIFS /BUVSF uTBZT#PVMBZ No farmers means no food It’s likely that even few customers who shop farmers’ markets and market stands – and know they are buying produce from the farmer – recognize at least somewhat the difficulties and essential hard work in hot conditions that farmers face. i.PTUQFPQMFXIFOUIFZDPNFVQUPUIF stand, you know, don’t really know everything that’s gone into what vegetables or fruits we’ve grown,” says Boulay.
“When I said I wanted to be a farmer, I was told that I couldn’t because I was a girl,” Boulay says. “I’ve always liked this kind of life. When I got the place, I wanted to go back to the life that I had growing up.” While many crops are now showing encou- raging signs of early growth, others look very clearly like the lettuces and brassicas that they are. An empty field awaits beans – both yel- low and green – batches of which Boulay, Berube and the Romeos will plant about ten days apart to stagger their harvest over the season. Sweet peppers and hot peppers will be growing far apart so the former don’t take on a nip of heat from the latter when the bees do their pollination jobs. 6MUJNBUFMZ UIFXFBUIFSDPOEJUJPOTBSF always front of mind for farmers. Boulay says the early spring was a difficult one – “when it’s cold, the bees don’t come out” – and now she says with a smile that the current bit of heat is good, though she would love if it would rain once a week. The market stand on Laurier makes up virtually Jardin Boulay’s entire business. It’s a lot of work, she says, as I pluck a warm, juicy strawberry and pop it into my mouth. “When I’m not at the stand, I’m here,” Boulay says. “There’s always work to be done transplanting until about mid-July. And after that, it’s taking care of the weeds and maintaining.” Jardin Boulay Garden anticipates opening July 12. They operate Thursday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the fall.
is just wonderful for a town’s urban core – it’s an educational experience during which she can tell them exactly how the fruits and vegetables are grown. “I have kids and younger people that come to my stand, and they see that we are selling what we grow. Even teenagers come and ask to have a carrot. They take a bite and say, ‘Wow. That’s how a carrot tastes.’ It’s an education process, and we have teachers coming with their students. In September, when the kids are on lunch break they come and buy apples,” Boulay says. On the busiest days at the stand, Boulay might sell out of an item and send someone to rush back to the farm for more. “I was told that I couldn’t be a farmer because I was a girl” The Jardin Boulay 100 acres runs parallel to Rollin Road before curling into a dog-leg right with forest on each side that provides some shelter. De gauche à droite : Olivia Romeo, Sophia Rome et Stephane Berube plantant des tuteurs au Jardin Boulay Garden. (Andrew Coppolino)
Her message, therefore, is a very simple one: support farmers because without them there would be no food. She points out that for the youth that come to the street-side tent – which I think Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of “Farm to Table” and co-author of “Cooking with Shakespeare.” Follow him on Instagram @andrewcoppolino LE TOURNOI DE GOLF WARDEN’S GOLF TOURNAMENT SE MET EN BRANLE POUR UNE BONNE CAUSE The property was formerly her father’s IPCCZGBSNm.BSZ-ZOONPWFEPVUXIFO
accueilli 160 golfeurs et a été présenté par Colliers Project Leaders. Les billets se sont vendus en moins de deux jours, soulignant le soutien massif de la communauté à l’événement et à sa cause. j/PVTUSBWFSTPOTVOFQÊSJPEFQBSUJDV - lière qui nous encourage à investir encore QMVTEBOTOPTDPNNVOBVUÊT6OFGPJTEF plus cette année, la réponse des comman- ditaires et des participants au tournoi a été remarquable. Grâce à eux, nous pourrons soutenir davantage d’organismes dans les $613 EFTPSHBOJTNFTRVJGPVSOJTTFOUEFT services essentiels au bien-être de nos
meilleures performances golfiques de cette année. Edith Léveillé a remporté le prix du QMVTMPOHESJWFGÊNJOJO .JLF8IJGàODFMVJ du plus long drive masculin, Kate Kennedy celui du coup le plus proche du drapeau féminin et Pier-Olivier Fournier celui du coup le plus proche du drapeau masculin. Cet événement vise à montrer la mission DPOUJOVFEFT$613RVJDPOTJTUFÆTPVUFOJS le bien-être de ses 98 000 résidents dans huit municipalités, grâce à la c ollaboration, à un service bilingue et à un leadership communautaire.
résidents. Je remercie de tout cœur tous les commanditaires et les participants », a EÊDMBSÊMFQSÊGFUEFT$613:WFT-BWJPMFUUF Depuis son lancement en 2018, le Fonds du préfet a distribué 195 000 dollars à des organisations locales. Les fonds collectés lors du tournoi de cette année seront distribués lors de la réunion inaugu- SBMFEFM6$13FOEÊDFNCSF BQSÍT la clôture des trois événements annuels de collecte de fonds : la suite d’accueil 30." MFUPVSOPJEFHPMGEVQSÊGFUFUMF banquet du préfet (prévu en novembre). -FT$613POUÊHBMFNFOUDÊMÊCSÊMFT
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