The beginning of an adventure
A dream that came true…
In 2011, an amazing opportunity presented itself to us; a tiny parcel of land was for sale, just outside our village of Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague. We jumped on the occasion and bought it. Afterwards, we started wondering… what could we possibly grow here?
Shortly after, we received a seedlings pamphlet in the mail. Talk about timing! Raspberries, blueberries, haskap berries. Wait, what? Haskap? We had never heard about this little fruit before. This is when our adventure began: learning about setting up a haskap orchard, we took a trip to Lac-Saint-Jean to get more information about the work it would involve, multiple training courses followed.
But the real work started in 2012, as we started to prepare the land: drainage, lots of digging, liming, hilling, then the installation of the irrigation system and plastic mulch. More than 4,000 plants were planted in the fall of 2012, then 4,000 more in 2013, for a total of 8,200! Finally, in 2021, we officially received our Ecocert certification.
Agritourism farming
Our 8,200 plants pick-your-own farm
We can proudly say that we are among the first producers of organic haskap in southern Quebec! But as a pioneer, the responsibility of making this delicious fruit known to the general public stands on our shoulders. That is the reason why we opened our pick-your-own farm to the public in 2019. Agritourism is an important part of the economy of the Beauharnois-Salaberry MRC and we are pleased to contribute to it by welcoming hundreds of people on our land from mid-June to early July.
Moreover, we have developed partnerships with several local companies, who now sell our products and who imagined delicious creations using the fruits in our orchards.
A bit more about us…
A local family business
The Leger family is the heart of this amazing project. From buying the farm to working hours in the orchard, each member plays their part and supports each other in this great adventure. While André, in addition to his job outside the orchard, is responsible for all mechanical and labor tasks, Nathalie wears several hats as well! From marketing to cultivating, developing recipes, managing social media, delivering products…. the list goes on. The two entrepreneurs are also parents of three beautiful children! Multitasking at its best!
The kids adapted pretty quickly to the farm life. Mathias likes to greet visitors, he answers their questions and does some chores in the field. Justin has fun with the young clients and Nadège enjoys tasting the haskap!
