April 26: James & Audrey Pott “Growing Haskap & other Small Fruit”

James & Audrey Pott came to Canada in 1982 to start farming, after having done some solid research for over a year. Yet, after a seven year struggle (financially) we gave up and had to start all over again . Basically from scratch.

Nobody can say that we did not try. We started with 250 and then on to over 400 sheep. When it became obvious it was not enough to survive, we added finishing some 1500 pigs per year, since we could use the manure for growing crops. Within two years we were also growing over 400 acres of grain.  Just the two of us with a growing small family that thankfully Audrey had some time for..

It was too much. Even for a couple of professionals.  We both did post graduate work. Audrey in Health and Nutrition and James in Developmental Psychology, and we taught for more than a dozen years. After running a bookstore for another dozen years we sort of retired on forty acres with a 200 year old home.

We have done this now since we closed the bookstore in 2003.  With it we hope to get other farmers excited about growing a few extra crops that might bring in the extra revenue they need to stay on the farm.  The main idea behind it is food security for our region and that preferably sustainable and organically grown.

The Potts own “Palliser Downs”, a U-pick operation near Foxboro.  They grow strawberries, haskap, raspberries and saskatoons, black raspberries and goji berries.   Add to this blueberries, tart cherries, sweeter tart cherries, black currants, jastaberries and autumn berries.  Last but not least white and red wine grapes and a variety of blue, white and pink seedless table grapes.