This year, it will be possible to eat strawberries from Quebec in the month of May. Potager Mont-Rouge Halte Gourmande, in Rougemont, has started producing in greenhouses and the first harvests will arrive in just a few weeks.
Philippe Beauregard and his sister Marjolaine acquired the Totem orchards in Rougemont. The family farm was already producing strawberries in the fields, and this addition resulted in a new greenhouse. After testing the facilities with cucumbers, they decided to grow strawberries. Inside the greenhouse, the strawberries are planted in suspended baskets. “We are going to be able to offer local strawberries in May, ahead of the strawberry season, which normally starts mid-June,” explains Philippe. “At the end of this production, the strawberries from the fields will arrive.”
At Potager Mont-Rouge, the producers have connected the greenhouse to their internet, which allows them to control temperature and humidity thanks to various cameras. The strawberries in baskets do not benefit from the minerals contained in the fields, so we must control the fertilizer supply and irrigation. But Marielle Farley, the matriarch, assures that these greenhouse strawberries will have the same great taste and color as in June.
Source: latribune.ca