About the Farm
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Both Jenny and James have a heritage of market gardening that extends to their families in the Netherlands. Farming is literally in their blood! Sundog Organic Farm (est. 2009) started out on the Vriend Organic Farm land and after two years there, moved to its current location in Sturgeon County, near the Sturgeon river. James and Jenny now have one dog, three boys, twelve hens, fourteen acres, and five hundred rubbermaid bins! As a certified organic farm, you will learn the principles of organic market gardening as well as gain experience in direct marketing as James and Jenny move their produce through The Organic Box and at the Edmonton Downtown Farmers market.
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Our farming practices begin with respect for the soil. Soil covers only a small part of the earth, and what we have has been built up over millennia to become the life-supporting substrate that we can grow food in. It is teeming with organisms, all of which work together to become a nutrient-dense matter that supports plant life (along with sun and water). We work together with these elements to grow vital foods for our customers and our family. We seek to farm with a balance of efficiency and sustainability. We farm on a small scale; this leads to less reliance on large-scale equipment as well as increased human interaction with soil and plants.
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About the Apprenticeship
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An apprentice on this farm will work alongside James or Jenny, and sometimes with other staff or independently as experience permits. The apprentice would participate in all levels of market gardening from planting (seeds in the greenhouse, seeds in the field, transplanting both mechanically and by hand), weeding and cultivating (with hand tools), to harvesting a wide array of crops from carrots, beets and potatoes to herbs, lettuces, broccoli, beans and more, as well as washing, packaging and selling produce in a farmers’ market setting.
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As part of the apprenticeship, you will meet with other apprentices across Alberta who are part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship program. Field days, learning opportunities and potlucks will be planned with this group at each hosts farm. You will also be invited to attend the 2022 Organic Alberta Conference.
