The Plural of Asparagus is Delicious

Every year I look forward to asparagus season. For me, it’s the start of summer and having fresh Ontario-grown food readily available. As a minimalist, I keep things simple when it comes to preparing asparagus at home. A little salt, pepper and oil are all my spears need before hitting the grill. I also love to steam, blanche and add fresh, crisp asparagus to salads. It adds colour and all kinds of fresh, earthy flavour. Be sure to pick Ontario asparagus up this spring before it’s all gone, and don’t forget to thank your farmer.

Interview by Stacey Sage

Q&A

Your Farm Story

Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us how you became involved in farming?

A: I’m Tim Barrie from Barrie’s Asparagus in Kitchener, Ontario and I was born into asparagus farming. Both my father and grandfather were asparagus farmers. We sell fresh asparagus to restaurants and retailers locally.

Q: Is your farm generational?

A: We are a 4th generation farm that originally started with cattle and blacksmithing. We have been growing asparagus for four generations now.

At one point, my grandfather was the largest asparagus farmer in Ontario, growing 100 acres in Alliston, Ontario.

Q: Do you have kids who are involved in your asparagus farm?

A: Yes, I have four children who have all worked on the farm at some time or another. My wife is also very involved, it’s a true family business.

Q: Do you have anything else you'd like to share about your farming journey?

A: We also have 45 wholesale products that we offer through retailers and restaurants. These products are made with any bi-products that come from harvesting. No part of the asparagus spear is wasted in our process.

We work with 15 partners locally including Rootham. We have also sold thousands of jars of our Grandpa Homer’s pickled asparagus and make Spud’s Finest Ontario Kettle Chips, made from potatoes grown in Alliston, Ontario.

We have been making asparagus tortilla chips for over 5 years, which you can find at Borealis in Guelph and Kitchener. And any of the crushed up chips found at the bottom of each bag are used for Borealis’ mac and cheese dish, again limiting any food wasted.

We also have another business on the farm called Lily Pure Naturals. Dehydrated asparagus is used as the exfoliant in this all natural soap. $0.25 of each bar goes to the Brain Tumour Program at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

We also grow 1 acre of organic heritage rhubarb, which is harvested in May & June (the same time as asparagus) and comes from translating each year.

Tim Barrie from Barrie’s Asparagus in Kitchener, Ontario.

About Your Farm

Q: Tell us about your farm (ie: size, location, age, etc)

A: Barrie’s Asparagus is located at 1236 Kings Road, on the edge of Cambridge and Kitchener.

The farm is 124 acres with 60 acres of that being bush.

Q: What do you grow on your farm?

We grow asparagus and organic rhubarb and also rent some of our land to a local hay farmer. We also have beehives next to the spring fed pond that we gather honey from regularly.

We also have the Black Smith and Bean Coffee Company on the farm and partner with St. Jacob’s Eco Cafe. We ethically source our coffee directly from a farm in Columbia.

Q: What does a typical day on your farm look like?

During asparagus season, starting anywhere between April 26 and May 26, depending on the weather. We harvest the asparagus daily, 7 days a week. We start harvesting at the crack of dawn and this continues throughout May and June.

Once the asparagus is taken from the field it goes right into the bag within 24 hours. Seconds aren’t sold because all of those pieces are processed for our other products, which we snap (not cut), when harvesting. It is a very labour intensive process and we hire most of our staff from the local community.

If we see frost, we have to wait 3-5 days before harvesting again, but our customers are used to this happening at least once per season.

We have one tractor pulled machine that holds 9 staff and an electric charged machine that holds one person. We are always looking for ways to innovate our processes.

We support our community in every way we can. We give back, we hire customers’ kids, we use the local hardware store - it all goes back to our community."

Q: What's the one most interesting thing about your farm that consumers would love to know?

A: Food Factory featured Rootham’s Barrie’s Farm Asparagus Smokey Antipasto last year. This is a great way to view how we harvest our asparagus and how Rootham’s makes this Guelph-made antipasto.

After tweeting Chris Hadfield, I received a call from him, saying he was on his way to the farm! He spent 45 minutes with me and then Tweeted that Barrie’s Asparagus was a destination farm to visit.

Fresh asparagus from Barrie's farm.

Farming

Q: What do you love about farming?

A: Everything! It’s my life. The customer interactions and the fact that I get to work with my family are the best. My kids and wife are involved in the business and my Dad is also involved. It’s a true family business, and our customers are part of the family.

Q: What excites you about the future of farming?

A: There are so many different areas to improve on and we are always trying to make our farm more viable. More and more people care about eating local, minimizing their carbon footprint and eating healthier. It’s great to be able to support all of those causes.

Educating Consumers

Q: Why should "buying local" be important to Ontario consumers?

A: When you buy local you support the same people that go to school with your kids, play soccer and hockey with your kids and it’s a great way to give back to community we live in.

We support our community in every way we can. We give back, we hire customers’ kids. We use the local hardware store for our farm supplies, which also goes back to our community.

Q. Is there a misconception about farming (or your product) that you’d like to debunk?

A: Asparagus is a very labour intensive crop. It’s part of the lily family and comes up in early spring, every year just like tulips. On average, once planted, the crop will yield up to 20 years. It’s not a crop that has to be planted every year because it’s a perennial.

Q. What's your favourite way to use asparagus at home?

A: Tossed with Garlic Box roasted garlic sea salt and grilled.

Asparagus is harvested 7 days a week during peak season.

A BIG THANKS to Tim of Barrie’s Asparagus for taking the time to share your farming story! If you’d like, follow along with Tim’s musings on Twitter @BarriesAsparagus