From farm to table… in town!

Vegetables grown on an urban farm in Montreal are served the same day 750 m away, in a restaurant and bakery in the Ahunstic district. Visit of a street farm with a short circuit.

Valerie Simard
The Press

Next to the Sanctuaire Saint-Jude, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, herbs, other edible plants and honey flowers have replaced grass and weeds. About 6000 ft^⁠2 vegetable gardens, in the ground, in greenhouses, in pots and tubs, are grown by La Ferme de rue de Montréal.

“We are not far from tripling our production capacity compared to last year [la première année de production sur ce terrain]in terms of quality too,” says Réal Migneault, urban farmer and founder of the organization.

Twice a week, Réal Migneault loads his minivan with coolers filled with freshly harvested vegetables – “we’re still a bit in rudimentary mode, we don’t have a fridge”, he explains. But he only has five blocks to go to get to Le St-Urbain restaurant and La Bête à pain bakery, two very popular establishments on Fleury Street that are his most loyal customers. And to whom he didn’t have too much trouble selling his salads.

“It’s super rare, a case like that. It’s crazy steep! exclaims chef Marc-André Royal, co-owner of St-Urbain and La Bête à pain. “It’s a big luxury for a chef. Summer does not last long in Quebec and we like to have beautiful vegetables. »

That day, Réal Migneault brought him cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, green onions, Little Gem lettuce, kale (kale) and pretty pastries. “It smells freshly cut, even in the kitchen! enthuses the farmer. A few weeks earlier, in mid-June, 30 kilos of garlic flowers were delivered to the two establishments.

While other restaurateurs make sporadic purchases from La Ferme de rue, Marc-André Royal has placed a pre-order in the spring, thus ensuring the farm has income to start the season. The two men were also able to discuss together the varieties to put in the vegetable garden. “We are the only ones in Montreal to have this proximity with a restaurant owner and to bring out vegetables that are usable for him, underlines Mr. Migneault. The other day Nicholas [Marchand, le chef de La Bête à pain Ahuntsic], came to the garden to see his salads. It’s rare that we can do that! »

From Little Gem, an old variety of romaine lettuce grown by La Ferme de rue, the chef makes cute salads where the head of lettuce, which he decorates with cherry tomatoes, walnuts, parmesan, croutons, sage fries and vinaigrette, is queen. And he is proud to mention to his customers that they are about to taste “Réal’s vegetables”.

From architecture to agriculture

Réal’s vegetables have a certain reputation in this part of Ahuntsic. Even before leaving, in 2017, his position as an expert in sustainable development in a large architectural firm to go and take training in organic agriculture, Réal Migneault cultivated his vegetable garden in front of his residence. After her four children left the nest, the surpluses began to accumulate. So he decided to sell some of his crops to passers-by.

The high demand, combined with a lack of space, prompted him to knock on the door of the parish priest. “One evening, I was in the driveway and I was still very frustrated to see that all my stock was gone, he says. I still had my shovel in my hands. I went up to the presbytery. I knocked on the door and said to the priest: “Are you tempted to have a garden?” »

A year later, the parish granted him a free lease. Helped by a few volunteers, he will spend a summer preparing the ground. “We are on very clay soil. It was necessary to dig each path, take out the rocks, to be able to make the culture beds. The land had not been worked for almost 50 years. When we did the contamination tests, we came up with such weak, even negligible, results. We could go into the ground. »

A radius of 10 km

Although it is not certified, the farm applies the rules of organic farming. In addition, the seeds come from a radius of 10 km from the land, as well as the greenhouses that receive them before they are planted. To maximize space, the farmer relies on counter-planting. Thus, green onions grow among the kale and lettuces and basil among the eggplants. “That’s kind of our secret,” he says. But no trade secrets here. The farmer is generous with his advice. This is also one of the missions he gave to his organization.

Hence the idea of ​​a farm that overlooks the street and not perched on a roof like most urban agriculture projects in Montreal. In addition to being able to visit the vegetable garden and get information, citizens can buy vegetables directly there, socialize, get their hands dirty and amuse their palates.

” Does that remind you of something ? asks Réal Migneault, handing us a sheet, amused. It’s pineapple sage, or fruity sage. There are those who use it in salads, or even chopped on ice cream. »

A gourmet workshop project organized in collaboration with Le St-Urbain is also in the air. In addition, part of the harvest is donated to food security organizations.

“Farming of the future”

For Réal Migneault, it is “the agriculture of the future”, the motto of his organization.

“It’s an agriculture where people are aware that they are able to take some of their food into their own hands and that it has a broader scope than simply feeding themselves. It is to give people some of their decision-making power over their food, in particular by choosing to encourage a local organic farmer. We don’t produce enough to fit into a very important food chain, even a commercial one. But what we do is that we make people want to eat healthily. »

Faced with the acceleration of climate change, “it is an agriculture that brings hope” and which shows that the solutions are not all synonymous with restriction. “You can never make enough of it, then it tastes good, there aren’t many solutions like that!” “, says Réal Migneault.