https://www.foodandwine.com/montreal-urban-agriculture-8783278
"“Give it a try!” says Mohamed Hage, offering me the ripe cherry tomato he’s
plucked from a vine. The Lebanese-born founder of Lufa Farms is guiding me
through a leafy landscape: rows of reddening tomatoes labeled Balthasetto and
Ferreira, varieties sought after by Montreal’s best chefs, rise skywards on a
horizontal scaffolding of irrigation tubes. No need to wash it, Hage points
out; like everything Lufa grows, it’s pesticide free. As the scarlet globe
bursts against my palate, I’m transported to a market on the shores of the
Mediterranean at the height of summer.
Outside, it’s an overcast Montreal afternoon, with the temperature hovering
just above zero (32°F). Yet inside this sprawling facility — the world’s
largest commercial rooftop greenhouse — the temperature is a steady 27 degrees
(80°F). In six locations throughout the city, including this repurposed
warehouse that once housed a distribution center for retail giant Sears, Lufa
Farms uses hydroponics to grow peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, lettuce, and salad
greens, providing fresh produce to Quebec’s most demanding food-lovers
year-round. “In winter,” says Hage, “at a time when very little is being grown
locally, we’re in full production.”
Quebec may be an agricultural powerhouse, renowned for its maple syrup,
artisanal cheeses, blueberries, sweet corn, and all things pork, but its harsh
climate has long made farm-to-table gastronomy here a stretch during the long
winter months. By the end of autumn, the stall keepers at Jean-Talon Market,
one of the largest outdoor markets north of the Rio Grande, are forced to move
indoors. Rather than being reduced to parsnips and turnips, Montreal’s top
chefs traditionally coped by sourcing greenhouse-grown produce from J.M.
Fortier, the Birri brothers, and other market gardeners. But that’s changing as
the peppers and fiori di zucca aren’t necessarily trucked in from distant
fields anymore: an urban agriculture revolution means much of the harvest
happens on the island of Montreal.
Lufa Farms, which now uses a fleet of electric vans to deliver 30,000 baskets
per week, was the pioneer of large-scale hydroponics, opening its first rooftop
greenhouse back in 2009. But urban farming takes many forms in Montreal. The
arctic char served at Montréal Plaza and Pichai comes from Opercule, which
raises antibiotic-free fish in tanks, and delivers them fresh, hours after
being harvested, or smoked with maple wood. Cult distiller Rosemont makes its
gins and eaux-de-vie with apples, berries, and elderflowers foraged in
Montreal."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
