Beyond the gates of a popular mud track near Waldron, SK sits a quaint home surrounded by rich soil. This soil has been put to use by Martin Perepeluk, owner of the Purple Martin Orchard & Gardens. Onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, strawberries and yellow raspberries are among the wholesome goods to pick from at this U-Pick garden. What has caught the most attention however, are the adoptable pumpkins.
Purple Martin Orchard & Gardens is a family business that cherishes the fruits of nature; inviting families to do the same as they learn more about how the food they eat grows. Martin Perepeluk, better known as Marty, is a retired school teacher. In his youth, he lived on a farm near Norquay, SK. His grandmothers both taught him how to work with the Earth to grow food. Combining this knowledge with his lifelong passion for teaching, his U-Pick garden idea was born.
It wasn’t until the beginning of fall last year that he truly realized how plentiful his pumpkins were. Growing to weights that rivaled that of large dogs, the pumpkins in the patch rooted an idea inside of Perepeluk. Since his business was about learning to care for the Earth, adopting a growing pumpkin out to a family would supplement his teaching methods. Confirming and refining the idea with family members, Perepeluk then set out to promote it on his social media pages, where it caught on quickly.
The initial stage of the adoption process is making a unique design in the pumpkin’s skin. Over the course of the summer, Perepeluk stays in touch with adopters by posting growing photos, complete with ball size comparisons. At the end of the growing season, the adopters are free to take their new addition home, where they can let it ripen gracefully, or carve their design fully to create a Hallowe’en Jack-O-lantern. This process allows kids and parents to experience the joy of growing produce without taking on the burden of maintenance.
It is Perepeluk’s wish to lessen the hassle of upkeep so that families can create memories together. “Sure, a beautiful adopted pumpkin will only last for a few months, but a beautiful memory will last a lifetime,” he remarks.
In addition, every pumpkin that is adopted out donates $1.00 to Paws and Claws Animal Rescue in Yorkton.
Perpeluk continues to make improvements around the gardens. Due to the sparse bee population, he has had trouble with successful pollination.
A bee farm is now on the horizon for him to bring bee numbers back up, to create successful pollination with his produce and to teach kids the connection that other forms of life have with our food.
You can find Martin on Facebook, through his Purple Martin Orchard & Gardens page, or reach out by email for more information at [email protected]
