What's Old is New Again
Story by Aric McBay
Photos by Suzy Lamont
Stella and Marc Hiemstra run Loughborough Heritage Orchard, a beautiful farm nestled into the south shore of Loughborough Lake. Along with fruit trees they raise horses, pigs and chickens on their farm east of Inverary, in South Frontenac.
“Our focus is on maintaining heritage varieties, on a heritage property, in heritage ways,” explains Stella. The centrepiece of that heritage approach is the cultivation of “old standard” apple trees which are now 60-70 years old. Loughborough features 179 of these unique heritage trees, which grow about 30 feet tall (much taller than modern “dwarf” trees).
Growing old standards: In newer style orchards, apple varieties are grafted to dwarf root stock. This limits the overall size of the tree, but allows a new planting to come into production more quickly. That style produces dense rows of smaller trees. “A dwarf orchard would have over a thousand trees in the same space,” explains Stella, as their 179 heritage trees.
The lower density of the orchard means that there are broad, grassy spaces between the rows of apple trees. This is less demanding on the soil, making it easier to grow apples with organic methods, allowing space for the grazing animals that are critical to the orchard’s success.
“We really want this apple orchard to be spectacular,” says Stella. “To offer varieties you can’t taste anymore, to be able to provide that to our local community and beyond.”
Stella and Marc fell in love with the taste of heritage apple varieties after moving to the farm in 2014. “The flavours are remarkable,” says Marc. “It was like nothing we’d ever tasted.”
Since then, they’ve planted more young heritage variety apple trees, as well as pears, plums, and cherries. They make apple products right on the farm, including cider, jams, apple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. They also have a small sugar bush, where they produce maple syrup and maple butter, all available at the farm store when in season.
Along with the fruit and maple trees, Marc and Stella also raise animals. Their horses are part of the grazing rotation in the orchard. “Horse urine controls apple scab,” explains Stella. “It’s a natural fungicide.”
Their laying hens include heritage varieties like Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, and most recently Chanteclers, a breed that was developed a century ago in Quebec to tolerate harsh Canadian winters.
Marc and Stella also raise KuneKune pigs, a New Zealand heritage breed. KuneKune pigs are very cute, unusually small and round. Uniquely for pigs, the KuneKunes graze on the surface of a pasture instead of rooting in the soil. KuneKune pigs enjoy snuffling around in the grassy spaces between the apple trees.
But surprisingly for a farm that raises pigs, Stella and Marc don’t actually sell pork. In fact, they’ve never even eaten their KuneKune pigs. (“Apparently they’re very tasty,” notes Stella.)
The pigs are too important to eat because of their crucial ecological role in the orchard: cleaning up fallen fruit that could spread apple pests.
“One of the challenges with an organic orchard is that if little fruitlets fall to the ground and happen to have a bug larva in them, the larva will eat its way out, and go into the ground to pupate,” explains Stella. “It’s physically impossible to pick them all up.” If the apples are left on the ground, the pest cycle could continue the next year. Instead, the pigs devour the fruitlets whole.
Stella and Marc moved to Frontenac County from Bobcaygeon, after Marc retired from teaching, and they’ve found the area perfectly suited to their lifestyle. “We’re small town people,” says Stella. But the convenience of nearby Inverary, Sydenham, and Kingston is a perfect balance. “We have access to big amenities, but enjoy a small town feel where we can get to know our neighbours.”
Unique geology: The farm is at the boundary of Frontenac County’s limestone bedrock and Canadian Shield. A beautiful limestone escarpment runs next to the main orchard, but moment’s walk north will bring you to the ancient granite outcrops that overlook Loughborough Lake.
Where to find Loughborough Heritage Orchard products:
- All Loughborough Heritage Orchard products are available through their farm store. The farm store is self-serve based on the honour system.
- In addition to apple and maple products and free-range eggs, you might also find produce from Stella and Marc’s large garden, and sometimes fermented products like sourdough bread, kimchi, or kombucha.
- Stella and Marc also raise a small number of pasture-raised meat chickens each year; please contact them to place an order via info@heritage-orchard.com
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