The fall harvest is here, and while the Valley is abundant with apples, squash and fall foliage, something a little more unexpected is being harvested in Havelock. Ferme Bons Fruits, which is run by Chantal Agnew, Annie Bélanger, André Strebel and Frank Boyle and has historically been known for its fruit, has started growing something new: peanuts!
The farm started this last year, when one of its founders was interested in trying to grow peanuts. They did a test run of about two acres and had some success, which led to them expanding to between 50 and 60 acres this year. Agnew explains that peanuts are a bit peculiar and growing them has been an interesting process. “Peanuts grow underground, but they don’t grow from the root system. It grows from the flower. The plant produces a yellow flower, and from that flower, a peg is produced, and that peg drops into the ground. And from that peg, the peanut is produced. So yes, they grow underground, but it doesn’t grow from the root system.”
Peanuts are not traditionally grown in Quebec, and in order to make them thrive in this climate, Agnew explains “We start them under plastics, a biodegradable film – kind of like they do with sweet corn, just to prolong the season and to get the plants going earlier, and to make sure that they come to maturity in the fall before the first frost.”
There has been a learning curve with this process, and because Ferme Bon Fruits is currently the only peanut farm in Quebec there isn’t really anywhere to go to for advice. “We’re kind of learning on our own, watching lots of videos. We did go visit one of the producers in Southern Ontario and learned a little bit from him as well,” Agnew says.
They’ve had to ship equipment from Georgia, U.S.A., and some from China. They’ve had to do a lot of work to determine what works and what doesn’t work here.
Ferme Bon Fruits has big plans to develop an agritourism venue, and they are currently developing their store to sell transformed products, including peanut butter, salted peanuts, chocolate- and yogurt-covered peanuts and more. Other plans include developing an online shop and potentially opening the farm to tours. With the fruit that they grow and the peanut products they hope to offer, they will be set up to make some pretty spectacular peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Recently, the farm went viral online when one of the owners, André Strebel, dressed up as a squirrel named “Réal Pinotte” and took to the internet, sharing some of his adventures and his passion for protecting his peanuts. These videos have blown up, with one of them reaching almost a million views on Instagram. Just like the farm’s owners, Réal Pinotte is very excited about this season.
To keep up to date with developments, Ferme Bon Fruits can be found on Facebook and Instagram. They have a lot of developments in the works and are excited to share them with the community. And, as a bonus, you may even become acquainted with Réal Pinotte himself.