The Story of our Farm

A vintage Allis-Chalmers tractor

The Farm and Farmers

Roots Down is owned and operated Jeff and Sue Klug, along with our two children Mara and Neville. 2011 will be our sixth year of farming here and running a CSA. We are located north of Gananoque, in the heart of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. Here, five eco-regions merge, with the highest acre per acre biodiversity in all of Canada. Our fields were cleared in the 1850’s and have been farmed ever since. In 1972, the farm was purchased by three families who over the years planted over 10,000 trees on this land. Through their efforts, what was once one large cornfield has now become many small fields surrounded by forest, the perfect balance between farm and nature. We bought the farm in 2005 and every season we have been amazed by the number of different plants and creatures who also call this land their home.

Farming Philosophy

Healthy soils grow healthy food, simple as that. We strive to achieve this by using compost, cover crops and biologically based soil amendments. All weeds on farm are manually removed, no herbicides. Insect pests are dealt with by encouraging beneficial insects to feed on them, manual removal and covering of crops as a physical barrier. No Genetically-Modified (GMO) seeds or plants are ever used on our farm. We have been Certified Organic by Eco-Cert Canada since 2007.