Fergus market garden grows with new meal prep packages

A Fergus husband-and-wife team says it knows food because it grows food.

Andre and Jazmine Saleh operate Mountain Roots Gardens, a market farm that offers meal prep packages featuring food grown from their own garden.  

With a background in hospitality, the couple has seen the benefits of a farm-to-table lifestyle.  

“I think a lot of people want to support local, but at the same time they want to save money and try things that are readily available,” Jazmine said.

“In Ontario, we can grow so much food, but often, many people just go to the grocery store and rely on imported food, or food that isn’t as fresh. ... I think there are so many opportunities for people to learn how to grow on a smaller scale of farming. Anyone can use smaller spaces to grow a lot of food."

A staple at the Elora Farmers Market, the couple said the opportunity has allowed them to meet with many small local farm operators.  

“We visited their farms and we learned how they operate. There’s so much space that you can utilize instead of just growing grass. If you look at your front yard or backyard, all of that space can be used for growing food,” Andre said.

“We learned intensive techniques such as inter cropping varieties, closely spaced, and in an environment that would normally grow grass.”

The new meal prep service at Mountain Roots Gardens is designed to help meet the needs of busy individuals and families who want to prioritize health and quality.

“We decided to invest some money and actually start a small market garden,” Andre said.

“We rented a plot of land in the town of Durham when we first moved here to start market gardening. We’ve just started our second season. So, we are still brand new.”

The couple also uses its own backyard in Fergus to grow food.

“It’s fairly large. After our first year, we saw that it wasn’t feasible to travel almost everyday, an hour north to Durham, to go gardening and grow food. So, we took half of our crops and planted them in our yard. The other crops that don’t require daily attention, are still in Durham. So, we switched up our strategy,” Andre said.

Mountain Roots Gardens grows a variety of crops including cabbage, onions, peppers, cauliflower and tomatoes. And with a passion for growing healthy organic food, the couple enjoys sharing their yield with the community.   

Meals are prepared and delivery is available anywhere in Centre Wellington.

For Andre and Jazmine, Mountain Roots Gardens is about growing food that is organic, healthy and nutritious.

“We focus on featuring our food and showing people where their food comes from, and this includes our tomato sauce.,” Jazmine said.

“My mother grew up on a Heinz tomato farm. And my grandpa sold them at the St. Jacob’s Market. He was in produce his whole life. I just think there is something to be said about buying local and supporting local farmers. People really want that and think there is a lot of opportunity for them to get out there and grow food. It might seem overwhelming, but there is so much joy from being in the earth. It’s very rewarding.”

Jazmine says meal prep offers the couple an opportunity to create.

“I think what we love about meal prep and catering so much is that we just love creating new things and exploring the culinary side of things, she said.

Andre says local food supports the local economy.

“People used to come to the market because they wanted to see what was being offered and to help the local community. But now, with inflation, people are actually doing their grocery shopping at farmers markets. Prices are usually better than at the grocery store, and the food is fresher and healthier. It’s no longer a want,” Andre said.

“One of the best ways to help beat inflation, is to grow your own food. We would love to see more people embark on this market gardening journey. And we believe it will benefit everybody in the end with better access to healthier food.”