March 01, 2020

Foodie Spotlight | Fresh fruits and vegetables from Laval, courtesy of the Marineau family

Isabelle Vallée
A curious and inquisitive blogger

A professional and passionate advocate of digital marketing, Isabelle Vallée has long contributed to Montreal’s cultural vitality by handling communications for the city’s major fashion events. Self-employed since 2011, she helps organizations tackle their online presence challenges by offering 360° web strategy, community management, and personalized content marketing services. In January 2015, Isabelle launched the cultural platform lesbonsplans.ca, where she serves as editor-in-chief and photographer. Curious, a foodie , and a lover of culture, she shares on this blog what to see, what to do, and what to discover on the North Shore, in Laval, and in the Laurentians.

Did you know that Laval has long been Montreal’s “breadbasket” and that, despite changes in our lifestyles, there are still a few large vegetable growers on the island? The Marineau family farm, located in the Sainte-Dorothée area, is one of these major producers. For over 100 years (since 1921), the Marineau farm has grown berries and corn in its fields, and now, in its greenhouses, a wide variety of vegetables, including tasty tomatoes and crisp cucumbers. Meet Louis Marineau, a passionate advocate for agriculture and local flavors.

How did this journey into farming begin?

It all started with my great-grandmother, who was very forward-thinking and grew tobacco on rented land. Later, she bought a small plot of land here in Sainte-Dorothée. Then my grandfather took over, and that’s when we started growing vegetables. He used the “cold frame” method (raised beds one foot high, 12 feet long, and six feet wide, each containing four three-foot-wide glass-covered frames). We made 1,500 beds. This technique allowed them to start sowing seeds very early in the spring so that by Easter they’d have radishes and “early” lettuce to sell at the Marché Central in Montreal. Later, my father and his brothers took over, and then we, the children, came along and decided to focus specifically on berry production. It’s fair to say that the entire Marineau family worked hard to build the farm we know today.

Since this is a family business, what role does each person play within the company?

Here, every member of the family is involved in the operations and plays a very important role within the company. My brother oversees production in our greenhouses, my wife Isabelle manages the kitchens, my sister Isabelle works at one of our stands, and even my parents are still just as active as ever! They often help harvest the sweet corn early in the morning, and my mother helps us at the stands. And we’re slowly starting to train the next generation!

What products can we find at your kiosks, and where can we buy them?

Of course, you’ll find all our fruits and vegetables here, including berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries), our famous corn (grown using traditional methods), our greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as our jams, preserves, fruit bread, potato fritters (cooked in real syrup), and our famous pies! And all our products are made using traditional methods with the fruits and vegetables we grow.

We also work closely with other local producers (from Laval and the Lower Laurentians) to round out our selection and offer our customers great, fresh, local products! It’s also our way of supporting local producers.

Marineau Farm, Your Neighborhood Garden

The farm’s slogan is: “Your neighborhood garden.” So people can come here to pick their own produce during the season, and sometimes we even offer tractor rides to show them our work, what we do, and—most importantly—how the fruits and vegetables grow! And people really love that!

In fact, from mid-June through late October, you can stock up on delicious local produce at one of the three Marineau Farm stands located in Laval. Fresh fruits and vegetables, picked at peak ripeness… for maximum flavor! We invite you to stop by!