Canadian Ginger Company
If you walk through the two separated half acre greenhouse ranges at Fisherville Greenhouses you will see a variety of different crops cultivated and harvested by Cindy and Ron Mueller. As you make your way thru the first heated range you will find tidy rows of hydroponically grown beefsteak and grape tomatoes as well as English cucumbers, red and yellow bell peppers some basil, parsley and a row or two of zucchini. In amongst all of this you will also find the odd Ginger and turmeric plant growing which is how the couple first dappled in their new venture.
Ginger is typically a tropically grown plant with its origins in the rain forests of Southern Asia. It requires a warm and humid climate which a greenhouse environment lends well to. When most people think of ginger they most often think of the gnarled root found in the grocery store but this greenhouse is home to a fresh immature baby version of ginger called “pink” ginger aptly named for the rosy undeveloped leaves called bud scale. Pink ginger is a softer less fibrous version of its big sister that can be used all the ways that mature ginger is used and also can be pickled and candied and does not need to be peeled since it is so tender.
Ron and Cindy both grew up on family farms; Ron on his parent’s cash crop farm in the Niagara area and Cindy on her parent’s tobacco farm in Delhi, Ontario. Both family farms also raised animals; milking cows, beef cattle, pigs and chickens both for meat and eggs.