Owner ‘in discussions’ with Bryson Farms about potential purchase of farm
by Camilla Faragalli
Anyone driving along Highway 148 near Bryson has probably noticed the construction of a massive structure next to the Ultramar gas station.
The building, officially named the Serre Bryson Greenhouse, belongs to Jian Zhang, who has owned and operated the gas station and convenience store beside it for nearly a decade.
On Tuesday afternoon, after years of planning and construction, Zhang opened his greenhouse doors to the public, offering a tour to Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel, MRC Pontiac warden Jane Toller, as well as other interested members of the community.
The first of its kind in the region, this greenhouse will be powered entirely by renewable energy sources, namely passive solar energy and energy generated from composting organic matter.
These energy sources will make it possible for the greenhouse to be sustainably heated year-round and grow produce Zhang plans to sell to local farms to be distributed to consumers through the winter months.
“For now we’ll do more hardy vegetables. Later we’ll do something like tomatoes or cucumbers, because they need more sun,” Zhang said, adding that, as far as he is aware, there are currently no other local sources of freshly grown vegetables in Pontiac during the winter.
Zhang says he’s witnessed the challenge of cultivating off-season fruits and vegetables in Canada intensify in recent years with soaring fuel prices and inflation.
He hopes his new greenhouse project will offer a model for local, sustainable agriculture that will contribute to the development of a climate-friendly regional economy.
MP Chatel said she is concerned about food security in the region, especially with the current water shortages in the south-western United States where much of the Pontiac’s fresh produce comes from.
She said she believes projects such as Zhang’s will ensure year-round access to fresh produce in the region, “despite what happens in the world and despite what happens with climate change.”
Zhang intends to use ecological concepts throughout all of his farming processes.
“I think this is the future,” he said.
Zhang has already begun growing test plants in the greenhouse to make sure the his systems are working properly, and hopes to be fully operational before next winter.
How the greenhouse will work
The inspiration for this greenhouse project came from an innovative ecological greenhouse concept popular in China.
Recognizing significant climate differences, Zhang has customized the technology so the greenhouse can continue to operate through Canada’s winter months, using a combination of solar heat stored in the mound of earth next to the greenhouse, and energy created from decomposing organic matter.
Zhang is using two diverse composting methods to do this: the Jean Pain method, and a method referred to as the aerated static pile (ASP) method, both of which will heat the greenhouse in the winter without an active energy input.
While the passive solar greenhouse is popular in China, particularly in the province of Shouguang, Zhang says that in Canada, the technology is rare.
“I’ve done research and I think this is the first greenhouse in Canada to link the Jean Pain and ASP system to heating a greenhouse that’s this big,” he said.
Zhang explained that he is doing his best to adapt the technology to local conditions, and is prioritizing the use of local renewable resources for his project.
“This involves using more earth and wood structures instead of metal,” he said, noting that only 10 per cent of the materials he has used have been imported, and that the rest of his building materials have been sourced locally.
Chatel, who was visiting farms throughout the 41 municipalities within the riding she represents as part of an initiative her office calls “farmer’s week”, told THE EQUITY she’s never seen anything like it.
“I’m very impressed. Especially with the heating from compost – it’s pretty amazing,” she said.
Working with Bryson Farms
Zhang intends for his produce to be distributed locally, minimizing the pollution associated with the long-distance transportation of produce.
To do so, he will be teaming up with local organic farm Bryson Farms, as well as other farms, to supply produce for their clients through the winter.
“Jian has the experience and the connections in China to actually make this happen, and the wherewithal and the desire. Whereas a lot of people would see this as being just not possible,” Collins said.“Jian is a brilliant man, but he probably needs gardening experience. Terry and I have been doing this for 25 years [ . . . ] so we’re working together to get this greenhouse functioning.”
Zhang said he is in discussions with the owners of local organic farm, Bryson Farms, to potentially buy their business, but that details of the sale are still being worked out.
The discussions have not prevented the farm’s owners Stuart Collins and Terry Stewart from helping Zhang start growing vegetables in the greenhouse.
“They have more experience,” Zhang said. He noted that other agricultural businesses have expressed interest in working with him, but that to date, Bryson Farms is the only one he is collaborating with.
“We are in discussions. That’s really where it stands at present,” Collins confirmed. “We’ve been helping him with his new greenhouse and trying to get it planted.”
A team effort
Assisting Zhang in his venture is his 29-year-old nephew Ryan Zhang, who moved to the Pontiac from Vancouver two years ago to help his uncle run the new greenhouse business.
“I remember one day after dinner he [Jian] gave me a call and we talked for almost two hours, because he really wanted to expand his business,” Ryan recalled. “He thinks he’s got a really good opportunity.”
Jian Zhang first moved to the Pontiac in 1997, initially acquiring the Marché Bryson Mart and then purchasing the Ultramar gas station near Bryson in 2014. He says his goal is to shift from traditional retail to an environmentally friendly business.
With a master’s degree in engineering from China, a PhD in energy economics from France, and as a certified management accountant here in Canada, Zhang believes he has the background knowledge to make his greenhouse venture successful.
Zhang’s innovation has received support from more than members of his own family.
Bryson locals Cathy Fox and Clifford Welsh have contributed substantially to the project.
“He [Zhang] contacted me about whether I’d be interested in helping with the worm farming,” Fox said, explaining that Zhang had wanted to farm worms for local fishers.
“I suggested we also use worm farming to improve the soil in the garden, and integrate [them] in composting,” she said.
She explained that her husband Cliff, being naturally skilled with “anything to do with plumbing,” also contributed by building a system that worked for the greenhouse.
Despite the local support, construction of Zhang’s project, which began last year, has not been without its difficulties.
“Sometimes it’s very challenging,” Zhang said, giving the examples of the initial collapse of the dirt wall that spans one side of the greenhouse, and the two motors he has already burned through trying to motorize the massive rolling thermal blanket that covers it.
“We’ve had a lot of such difficulties but we’ve taken lessons and made analyses to find the solutions to make it better and adapt.”
Zhang said that many local businesses have become integral suppliers and partners during the preparatory phases of the greenhouse, particularly Luc Beaudoin of Do-It-All Construction in Bryson and Ronnie Hodgins of Home Hardware in Shawville.
“I’m really grateful I’ve got so much help from people,” Zhang said. “Without them I would not be able to realize my dream.”
A vision for the future
Zhang says that his 10,000-square-foot greenhouse will serve as an experimental model that he hopes, if successful, can offer a template for other greenhouses.
“With little investment, I think we could spread and promote the technology to existing greenhouses. I think it’s something very, very feasible” Zhang said.
Zhang hopes to set a precedent in the Pontiac by demonstrating the effectiveness of his adapted concept, and aims to refine it until it becomes replicable across the region.
“This is my passion. And I’m really glad I can contribute. I’m really glad to have this opportunity.”
