~_} ‘ s mapopmi mm o ce ns e Te ie morromrereoemsinemimmrerenreeagearenn airnirrrn ce inaichies oi enmome Fromnemayemeomemntanameemme ons rommmmmmmsmmmcminiiigenenmmnnmenmemniommenirmmemmemmmmemennmenenemmmumenimendonmemommmnnomm mmanmnmnmtenammenmmneremeemmmmmmnmmmmmmtmmmen | M eA s faled By Jeffrey Carter â€" Z pos‘. . n 00 _ o iâ€™ï¬ 1e EP “*?’“9 Wilh the sight sombination of Zoll, morketing, and sgrieuttural |/ s ee#M ‘»jp}s;?",&â€â€˜i.wxn %" * \ ey s““«% 4WA _‘ ‘.l knowâ€"how, a successful farm can be established on a relatively small y ï¬â€™: . t gas l mgwg'wj‘:"*}; s § *‘,,,f;%z,g ) land base. Sue and Don Hilborn have proven the point at their 52 acre {/ _ __.... ~p"°>%®<@ “’i}f.«m’@ iss . â€" ul ss d 1 9 ,§ 3;( farm in East Zorra Township along. County Road 17. Theirgreenhouse f..«</~" ‘g“é;i"";rt, j @\g&&{m) <yfÂ¥s% f C s iss Sue Hilborn is involved with the marketing end of business andruns â€" [/.*.:"#*@% g&x"fgy’é,%m\3tï¬ ï¬{saf W k .......|___ "We‘re both visionaries but he has more of the technical and producâ€" [ _ "RRyA/Al L We 3‘&\:;},,.\ ol [ y$ tion expertise and I‘m the extrovert... Together weclick," Sue Hilborn |*â€"~=~~~4@«/@@ $ > / o »‘a Ee i@ § ; o & _ | says."It‘sagoodopportunitytostill beathomeandhavesomeflexible |..â€" * !’»gv*«~¢§ i asae! %‘*»»0&&%\\ c hours to be available for the family." : /y o o e i esp ons 5 e The main crop in the 7,000 square foot greenhouse are tomatoes. The %«wï¬&fl"“q‘ §\w~ l s y‘ 2 __|_Hilborns grow the "Trust" tomato variety which produces a large, red %fl%@‘*&“ kc l se z)7 *\ fruit which, when vineâ€"ripened, rivals summer garden varieties for (§R OA _ Aerieb s l y at is \’°7«NM taste. Because they sell most of the tomatoes right from the operation, L. .w A /) k t s s wsy s sls . they‘re able to offer this premium product. c w o 62 e‘ d ts L o d..........|]|. _ The tomatoes, along with the smaller number of English cucumber B 2.%$#"\ ¢ W m s s | 2 e olsz Plants, are rooted right in the soil under the greenhouse and are dripâ€" . [ §# _ oi tds c . s y se .ls â€"hydroponically or in a material called "rockâ€"woo!". But the Hilborns _\ \% &{ 4 Li S es "ssiar o _ O e . gl i 2. 1. believe that the olderâ€"style method they employ enhancesthetasteof |._____ > _ |_ _ W W 0 es dgï¬i §o_ N_ 2. 0 2g6 e the vegetables. And in the event of a mechanical breakdown, the ie ,( _ ) lz z. j6 4 Hilborn‘s system also provides more breathingroom. Hydroponicallyâ€" |=â€" + § W W WAAA K +2 L ce % grown plants will die quickly if their water and nutrient sourceis cut |Â¥@) _ \WM/ i 4t &&% §§ B ‘~:'»§’-â€,\" 2 §1. , s i e ts â€" of. sls t > 1. es %â€â€™ Tss Mrann o ccond o io win e es nass. l i ces â€i@s V ;@s [ _ l lt o .,g] the strawberry season and should fit in with the new asparagus |\ _ MÂ¥ e s o i io hss 2. ut §f>5¢« planting which will begin producing in a couple years. s se u. . s s L _ _ e yz l l l "O| . There are nine strawberry varieties available at the Hilborn‘s Red | P SE O B NO § s L . \r«},“*%&& BarnBerriesoperation. Sue Hilborn workshardtoeducatehercustomâ€" L > WAE WA _ _ %@»&* . t ' i s “?«w\ ers about their various attributes. s i “%ï¬& : %» $3 _ O lc j ie| . The Sparkle variety, for instance, was introduced back in 1942 and [ ) ue U Tsl %sg{»ï¬% is considered to be one of the best for taste. Itcan alsobemadeintojam . | * > s ue s â€"â€" w s> O l D zi. 22 _ .. | without theaddition ofpectin. Other varieties are Veestar(early/good [‘ / W M O l ENE S %@%‘ma taste), Annapolis (large fruit/early), Cavendish(large fruit), Vantage [\ _i\ _ _ > 1. .o | o .. "O...| and Bounty (good for freezing whole), Settler (very large/tart taste), | & A*%e%a& C ce og . â€" Startyme (deâ€"caps in field/good freezer) and Honey Eye (large fruit). _ [XA \f% 1e tssc iss MR _ About a oneâ€"fifth of the berries are sold readyâ€"picked. The rest are LITTLE JUSTICE â€"A black and white picked by the customers themselves. LABOUR INTENSIVE â€" Sue and Don Hilborn run a labourâ€" photograph doesn‘t do justice for these Don and Sue Hilborn have three children, Torrie, Rich and Andrew, _ intensive business. During the strawberry season as many as seven tomatoes which are a deep red in colour. aged 11,9 and 4, respectively. The family moved in 1990 to Oxford workers are employed full time. University student Megan Hart of the Sue Hilborn says meeting the needs of County from Haldimand where they also operated a greenhouse. Don Embroâ€"area, daughter of Graham Hart, works through the customers make herfamily businessnear Hilborn an agricultural engineer with the Ontario Ministry of summer."We try to be friendly, knowledgeable and reasonably Woodstock work. Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. priced," says Sue Hilborn. m «h «iD s punat en . w