Our second tour brought us to Manitoulin Island, not far from Gore Bay. We were greeted warmly by the proprietors Chuc and Linda Wilson and then led around their small but incredibly productive property.
In addition to their famous basil and fruit jellies and jams, they produce salad crops for the local market on Manitoulin. Below is an innovative solution for lettuce, a cool-season crop, to allow it to grow during the hot summer months:
We were also shown Chuc's 'Three Sisters' garden where squash, corn and pole beans are interplanted so that each crop is benefitted by the others. The corn gets the nitrogen fixed by the beans, the beans grow up the corn stalks, and the squash have a lot of heat trapped by the corn stalks. The purple corn here is taller than Chuc:
Well-organized, intensive and so tidy....
After seeing the back gardens and greenhouse, we were taken around the front to see where all the varieties of basil are grown for the delicious jellies produced on site:
After admiring the beds, we were put to work harvesting some basil for later use and nasturtium flowers for the salad we were to consume together for lunch.
Collectively, we produced a delicious and amazingly colourful lunch. Yum!
After lunch, we were shown the basics of making basil jellies without giving away the proprietary secrets of course! We were also offered a tasting of all the wonderful products; see the array of bottles below:
Before leaving, we had to get a group shot in front of this impressive wall of the Wilson's custom built home (thanks for the photo Orest!):
THANKS CHUC AND LINDA!
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