About Us
the Greenery is a small diverse non-certified organic farm. We are surrounded by mixed woods on slopes and wet ravines with a blue clay bottom creek. Our open fields of hay and meadow are pasture for our mixed flock of hens and sunny spaces for our market gardens and small mature mixed fruit & berry orchard.
Our connection to this land is one of endearing friendship and a shared love of permaculture gardening. The farm is managed by both of us, Anna King and Heidi Smith, members of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario. We sell pastured organic eggs, ecologically grown fruit and berries, annual and perennial vegetables, as well as native plant stock - including perennials, trees, and shrubs for private landowners and restoration services.
It is our mission here at the Greenery to foster connections to what we believe matters the most: food, community, biodiversity, and sustainability. We can’t wait for you to join us!
Your Farmers
Meet
Heidi Smith
BA, Permaculture Design Certificate
Born in the city, but a farm girl at heart, Heidi has always been happiest in the outdoors. Her love of farming started very young with visits to her grandparent’s farm every long weekend and holiday.
In her 20s, she travelled via WWOOFING (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) throughout British Columbia, landing on an intensive 8-month ecological farming & permaculture program at Linnaea Farm where she was forever transformed. Once you’ve grown and tasted your own food, there is no turning back.
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Having worked on many different farms, including a season immersed in the art of farming with draft horses, as well as the unique experience of being a professional food & flower gardener for Dr. Andrew Weil, she continues to learn about growing nearly two decades later. Every season is different whether it be due to location, climate change, or growing styles/techniques.
Food security, especially in times like these, is always forefront in her mind. To have landed at the Greenery and be able to share the harvest is a dream come true.
Anna King
Restoration Ecologist, BSc
As an enthusiastic explorer of Canada’s natural diversity, Anna has had the pleasure of living, visiting and working in a variety of landscapes. From an early age, she has been enthralled by wilderness and has taken countless back-country camping trips. Early development of her connection to land and place is aligned with annual multi day canoe trips and countless hours spent in the gardens at home with her mother. In addition to being an avid adventurer, Anna once had a small freelance photography business. Through the lens she began to see the depth of culture and a community’s connection to landscape.
During her academic career, much of her focus was examining the dynamic dance between ecosystems and a people’s connection to land and place through the study of ethnobotany.
Inspired by such connections, Anna dove head-first into the world of farming and permaculture, completing an internship with Kawartha Ecological Growers and continuing on a path of food security ever since.
As a professional working with the land, plants, and communities of Ontario in both the urban built environment and wild natural areas, Anna has gained extensive seed collection and plant propagation experience, combined with planning, executing, and growing nursery stock for revegetative projects. Anna believes it an honour to steward this land and a privilege to connect others to a meaningful sense of place - and what's on their plate!
Laurel
Farm Pup Extraordinaire
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The Greenery has a pup! Our farm dog Laurel arrived just before the snow fell in fall 2020. She is learning lots about farm etiquette and greeting folks as they arrive - however her primary role at the Greenery is first and foremost a protector. Her biggest job is looking after the chickens by keeping the foxes and predatory birds at bay as well as the racoons away from the fruit crops.
We ask that when you visit, give her a chance to figure you out before interacting - we promise she is a playful friendly furball, yet a puppy she still is.
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It’s about allowing nature to happen around you.
We believe in the wonder and brilliance of Mother Nature and her innate ability to strike balance and harmony in all aspects of life. As stewards of the land, it is our responsibility to act from an educated viewpoint and show reciprocity and gratitude to all things. From the smallest mineral to the tallest tree, each has a role to play, each exists in relationship to the other. The soil is our key ingredient.
When preparing beds, we strive for minimal tillage to reduce the disturbance to the soil layers and beneficial microbe communities using tarps and mulch to protect soil surfaces. We also build our own compost and rotate our flock of chickens to work in added nutrients. We strategically plant our crops using traditional techniques of plant pairings attracting beneficial insects as natural pest control as well as row covers which create physical barriers. Understanding and encouraging natural predator-prey relationships.
Whether we are growing carrots, picking berries, or nurturing seeds collected in the woods, we show the same level of care and respect to all aspects of life. The principles of restoration ecology, and those of growing beautiful and nutritious healthy food go hand in hand: respect for natural processes & functions, maintaining or initiating integrity, sustainability and resilience.
