The Rural Voice, 2001-10, Page 38If you ate today...
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34 THE RURAL VOICE
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with almost no weeds, a lot of care
and spraying is necessary. Growing
these crops keeps the four of them
busy afl year long, Bill said.
The flood plain consists mostly of
black muck which grows some
valuable crops. The black muck is
low-lying drained marshland, a large
deposit of silt. The price of arable
land varies but they had purchased 30
acres at $6,000 an acre about four
years ago. Also present in the area is
some gravel or sandy soil which
fetches about $3.000 an acre.
The harvest begins in early July
with the .new potatoes fetching
up to $17 a hundredweight.
The price is set by the growers' board
or marketing agency. The new
potatoes fetch the highest price as the
demand is greatest and the yield
volume least due to the small size.
The early harvest lasts about the
month of July. Bill plants 15 acres for
this early harvest.
Starting about mid-September, the
whole family is involved in the potato
and onion harvest with both crops
being removed or dug at about the
same time. The later market which
means storage for part of the year
fetches about $10 for 100 pounds of
potatoes.
The yield for the onion crop is
about 850 pounds per acre, and since
the size is estimated to be smaller
than last year, the yield will be down.
The onions which still have green
stalks are checked for maturity. If
they are ready for wind -rowing, they
are pulled and raked to dry in rows.
The vegetables are harvested and
transported in hoppers to their storage
building or shed.
All winter, the two couples grade
and bag their produce to be sent to
the central Toronto wholesaler —
potatoes in 10 Ib. bags and onions in
50 Ib. bags to be sold to several big
buyers for grocery store chains. Bill
and Joanne and John and Yvonne
spend every winter day in their
grading building and sheds.
Bill Vandenberk took over from
his father William who started
farming in the muck land when the
marsh needed to be cleared and
ploughed. At the time when his
grandfather William Vandenberk Sr.
emigrated from Holland in 1952 at
age 59 with seven children, the area
needed farm workers. Three years