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Continued from page 3 Compared to outdoor farming, where a crop can be harvest- ed_ two or three times a year, Jim with his nephew, apprentice Drew Pender, can harvest weekly. Jim explains, “We harvest our spinach weekly, one pond each week in rotation. We hi in which it can grow disease-free, with Ai te he amount of heat, light, water and of course no danger from animals or rodents. When you control the environment you can get a great product. We are constantly testing and trying new ways to make better spinach.” Adding to the length of time needed to get the hydroponic spinach greenhouse up and operating, is the fact that because the technology to farm this way did not exist, Jim and his co- inventors had to build a harvester and create from scratch so many things needed in the overall production. It has been a costly, experimental, innovative and rewarding journey, and a learning process that is never ending. “We now using our version ‘three’ harvester. At every step of the way we had to create the automation that could help us face the issues of heat, light, pythium and countless other facets of growing spinach,” Jim says. The Sheehan greenhouse was built in 2010 and their first harvest was February 2011, just a little over a year ago. Jim’s desire to supply local stores with his fresh spinach has come to fruition; in fact his supply cannot meet the demand now and he has had to trim his customer list. Jim says the local stores like Sobey’s and Vos have been in- credibly supportive, as has the general public. He observes “We are very pleased with our first year. I want to say a big thank you to the Port Perry community; people constantly call and email to enquire as to how they can buy our spinach. The gro- cery stores have been wonderful and we hear daily that people are looking for our product.” It is no wonder Jim’s spinach has been such a hit. Consider the product that comes across our borders daily from places like California where the spinach is picked, triple washed to rid it of soil, pesticides and all manner of natural elements. It’s then dried, sent to a packaging plant and trucked to a warehouse. From field, to warehouse, to our local stores is a seven to ten day process, with a product that has a shelf life of two to three weeks. With Jim’s spinach, a quick wash is all it needs and you have a package of spinach that will last at least 18 days. From floating Jim Sheehan and his apprentice, Drew Pender, are pic- tured above with the machine that plants seeds in each of the sectors of the styrofoam forms, which will be floated on the ponds fo grow the spinach until iti is harvested. fo by J. Peter Hvidston pond to grocery shelf in 24 hours is truly amaz- ing. Ilike spinach and eat salads almost daily. Upon leaving Jim’s I stopped at Sobey’s and picked up a package, just harvested two days before. I used small handfuls every few days in salads and am amazed to report that 25 days later my spinach is still fresh, green, sweet and almost gone. The Sheehan’s have come very close to spinach perfection and Jim has truly earned his nickname “The Spinach Guy.” By Marjorie Fleming ‘cus on Scugog 3 NN 4 CUS - APRIL 2012 04. APRIL 2012.92 finalindd 4 PORT PERRY TENNIS CLUB Our Pro arranges lessons, group and private, house leagues, fun tourneys, kids summer camps, etc. Tennis for everyone!!! OPEN HOUSE FUN DAY At the courts - Saturday May 5 - 10am - 2pm Includes BBQ lunch For more information, call Ken 905-986-4555 www.portperrytennisclub.com 120049 920m |