There’s an Ontario farm growing bananas

Growing bananas and papayas in Ontario’s climate would appear to be an impossible endeavor without a sophisticated laboratory and team of horticulturalists. However, the two simply started seeding and graphing plants on their own and with lots of trial and error, it took root.

Today, they sell their produce at farmers’ markets in Goderich and Exeter. Bananas are four for $2 while papayas are $3 each, comparable to the price of imported fruit at the big supermarkets.

Located in Blyth, about a three-hour drive west of Toronto, east of Lake Huron, Macpherson and Brake were naive but eager for a career change when they started the farm in 2010. The locals were skeptical when word got out they were growing bananas.

“We’ve been accused of growing pot or that we were getting (the fruit) from the food terminal,” says Macpherson, a law clerk for 25 years, taking a break from plucking purple beans.

“So we had open houses, asking them to come in and see it for themselves.”

Now they have a loyal local following as well as supporters from as far as Windsor who come to buy the fruit as well as more typical Ontario produce such as kale, broccoli, beans and tomatoes.

Broad fragrant leaves from a cluster of 10 banana trees hits my face as I step deeper into the hoop house, essentially a giant plastic tent with metal arches grounded by wooden planks. The bananas are still green and won’t be ready for market for another week. Macpherson returns from her house with a plate of Lady Fingers. These fat little bananas with thick skin are sweeter than the Cavendish variety, the common banana produced for export markets.

A circular path along the perimeter of the house is dotted with pineapple plants, long spiky leaves poke at my ankles as I walk past trees sprouting guava, papaya and oranges. Brake, who acts as the farm’s administrator, plucks a leaf from the lemon tree for me to smell. The scent is more intense than lemon zest.

“Our dream is to see (these fruits) growing everywhere and not have to depend on other countries and employ local people,” says Brake. He is hoping to expand the operation from the current three hoop houses on the property and be able to feed more people in the province.

“We don’t need to rely on boats or planes and we can have better tasting fruit that would otherwise rot during transport,” he says.

“We travel to the Dominican Republic and get tips from the plantations there. We also made a friend in Jamaica who works at a resort and showed us how to graph and grow the plants,” says Macpherson, who learned that banana trees grow better in triangle formations rather than in rows. “We also learned that orange trees have to be constantly trimmed before they bear fruit, and that lemons have to be picked before they turn yellow or else they rot quickly.”

This year, they’re introducing lychee, starfruit and passionfruit to the farm. The one crop that failed to flourish? Coconut. The cold-sensitive tree didn’t survive the winter and the two decided it was too much trouble to replant it.

But how do the rest of the plants fare since Ontario is far from having a tropical climate? When temperatures start dipping, the hoop houses are heated by an outdoor furnace fuelled by wood cut down on the farm’s property. “We do select cutting,” says Brake. “We have loggers cut trees from an area and we don’t cut from it again for 20 years. We noticed in the last six years, our maple trees have gotten bigger because they have more room to grow now.”

Brake and Macpherson efforts aren’t being universally praised. The farm is facing multiple charges from the Township of Huron and Huron County for failing to obtain permits for its hoop houses, as well as a single charge from the Maitland Conservation Authorityfor altering the wetland and clear-cutting on their property.

Their next court date with the township is in October. They are scheduled to go to pretrial with the conservation authority in December.

Brake says the township’s former building official determined that the hoop houses weren’t permanent structures and therefore aren’t subject to commercial taxes. As for the clear-cutting allegations, Brake says that the trees cut down were diseased or dying.

When contacted for a statement, The Township of Huron and Maitland Conservation Authority said they cannot comment on matters regarding ongoing cases.

Brake, however, is optimistic that the legal hurdles will clear by the end of the year. He and Macpherson hope to expand operations and build 100 hoop houses on the property next year so they can expand into other markets in the province. There is an online petition in circulation supporting the farm.

“The county put us in a pickle but we’re here to stay,” says Macpherson.

Other tropical fruits grown at the farm

While the farm grows more conventional Ontario produce including peppers, kale, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, celery and broccoli, it’s the tropical fruit that’s getting most of the attention.

Guava

Brake brought a guava tree from Florida last year and says it produces hundreds of fruit each year. The relatively fuss-free plant needs warm temperatures and water to survive.

Lemons and limes

The farm has about 100 citrus trees scattered among two hoop houses since Brake and Macpherson started growing them four years ago. Throughout the year, the leaves are trimmed and sold for potpourri.

Oranges and grapefruit

“The big grapefruit tree was a gift from a customer in London because it got too big for him,” says Brake. “He grew his outside in his backyard in the summertime and brought it to us in the winter.” The farm also grows two types of oranges, navel and Valencia in two hoop houses. Bees are kept in the back of the hoop house to help pollinate the trees.

Pineapple

Grown from a strain of Sugarloaf, a type of pineapple grown in Hawaii, these pineapples are smaller, sweeter and less acidic than the Smooth Cayenne, the species of pineapple most common on Canadian shelves. They also have a shelf life of 10 days.

Papaya

The farm harvests about 300 papayas throughout the year and Macpherson bringing papaya salads to Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.

karonliu@thestar.ca