Mar 29

Mar 29 E127: Merging The Small Farm & Farm-To-Table Movement Into One With Jan Regehr from Pineridge Hollow

Episode 127: Listen here!

Hello, hello, hello! Maggie and Dave are back in their old studio this week after months (years?) of recording remote due to pandemic restrictions. It feels good to be back together in person!

The duo start by catching up on listener feedback about sustainable alternatives to peat moss, discussing a recycled paper-based medium from U.S. brand, PittMoss as well as a listener’s suggestion to use wood shavings and saw dust.

Dave talks about Bloody Mary Nasturtiums as his favourite thing, and Maggie’s favourite thing this week is perennial flower, Classic Golden Yarrow.

This week’s guest:

Jan Regehr, owner & founder of Pineridge Hollow

About Jan Regehr:

Jan Regehr is a Manitoba-based business owner, founding Pineridge Hollow in 1992. Nestled just outside of Manitoba’s scenic Bird’s Hill Provincial Park, Pineridge Hollow is a turn-of-the-century style Carriage House that sits amongst six acres of gardens, ponds, flowers and peaceful property for guests to roam and enjoy.

In Spring 2017, Jan began Oak Knoll Farm, transforming an existing 120 year old farm into a working 48 acre farm that would supply fruits, vegetables, chicken and pork to the restaurant – Pineridge Hollow. The farm is located just east of Winnipeg in the RM of Springfield.

Oak Knoll Farm in the Fall, located in southern Manitoba. The farm grows a large portion of the food for Pineridge Hollow, partnering with other local farms to offer an immersive farm-to-table dining experience year round.

Jan explains that all the food waste produced by Pineridge Hollow is fed to the pigs on Oak Knoll Farm. The farm raises heirloom pigs and is able to provide pork for the restaurant year round.

This episode covers:

Jan’s background as a gardener
The story of Manitoba hot spot, Pineridge Hollow
Evolving Pineridge Hollow restaurant into a hyper-local farm-to-table experience
Regenerative farming practices used at Oak Knoll Farm
Permaculture and diversity practices for growing an orchard
How Pineridge Hollow reverse engineers the menu to determine what Oak Knoll Farm needs to grow
Jan’s dream to create a model that connects market farmers with restaurants in a co-op approach
Jan’s top tips for both market farmers and restauranteurs interested in the farm-to-table movement