Potatoes are the most consumed vegetable in North America, mostly because of our unfaltering adoration of the french fry! But potatoes go far past the fry variety. Scalloped potatoes, hashbrowns, heck even waffle batter are potato recipe options! When it comes to potatoes at Community Natural Foods, we look no further than Strathmore, Alberta where you’ll find Poplar Bluff Organics.

Poplar Bluff has been in operation since 1985, under the competent eye of enthusiastic farmer & owner Rosemary Wotske. Rosemary had wanted to be a farmer since the age of twelve when she visited a family farm and was so enamoured she had to be physically placed in the car to go home. Her undergraduate studies were in physiology and biochemistry and she has a Masters in genetics, that adds to her knowledge and willingness to experiment with lesser known potato varieties. At one time she was growing up to 30 different potato types. We learned from Rosemary that where she is located near Strathmore is called the “Palliser Triangle”, with a high cold desert climate. It is challenging to produce high yields, but does contribute to sweeter, better tasting root vegetables with a higher mineral content.

Though the farm has followed organic practices since its inception in 1985, Rosemary was one of the pioneers of the organic certification in 1998. At this time, she noticed growing support for organic methods and she didn’t feel like such a “lone voice in the wilderness”. She’s had great success with growing organically, and it allows her to exercise her science background and knowledge of nature’s systems. She’s even found that she’s been able to influence some of her neighboring farms. After a hailstorm decimated many crops and left many farms in a state of turmoil, Rosemary hired a crop plane to fertilize the soil with sugar and fish fertilizer. She was able to save a large number of her crops, which was enough evidence for several of her neighbors to employ the same technique. Another one of their secrets to success is using a form of aromatherapy as a sprout inhibitor for their stored potatoes, that keeps them from prematurely sprouting!

Rosemary Wotske has a biology degree majoring in physiology and biochemistry, and a Master of Science in Plant Genetics. She lived and breathed her farm’s mission statement well before researching land and testing soil.

After all these years, Rosemary still gets a thrill at harvest time when the potatoes emerge from the soil. And we at Community are thrilled to continue our partnership with Poplar Bluff Organics after all the years (which has been over 15 years).