Producer

We are a family run enterprise located in Ponds, Pictou County along the beautiful Northumberland Shore. Having grown up and spent most of their childhoods in Ponds, after fledging the nests for a time, both Tracey and Lynn eventually returned to the old homestead, combined their talents, and launched Ponds Country Kitchen and Gardens and haven’t looked back since!

Besides the more traditional fare, we often experiment with various ingredients and combinations and are always on the lookout for new recipes to try. For us, it’s all part of the fun!

All of our preserves are gluten free, processed in a boiling water bath canner, and made with vegetables and fruits that we grow or forage ourselves. For those ingredients that we don't have on hand such as grapes, currants, blueberries, cauliflower, we look to other local area businesses, friends and neighbors.

We pride ourselves on not using any harmful chemicals in our gardens; pest control is practiced by various methods such as handpicking, companion planting, row covers and diatomaceous earth, and all of our seedlings and transplants LOVE our homegrown worm castings!

Our several vegetable gardens are scattered about our adjacent properties and besides trying out new recipes, we also love to experiment and try out new ideas in the gardens. We incorporate many different types of growing methods including raised beds, container grown, square foot, traditional row gardening and “Hugie” - our hugelkultur bed. This spirit of adventure extends into the varieties of our produce - despite our vows to keep our tomato seed selection and plants to a minimum last year, we ended up growing even more than previous years with well over 200 plants of 18 different varieties cozying up to each other in the gardens. That's a lot of tomatoes!

Although our main focus is preserves and produce, we also have worm composting kits available. We practice vermiculture and love to share our knowledge of the process and our hardworking red wiggler worms - it's easier than you think to harvest your own worm castings at home! Other items on seasonal offer are vegetable and flower transplants, unique beach decor and candle holder products, and occasionally gluten free candy and baked products.

Supporting our local community is paramount to us and is centered at the core of our beliefs. We are extremely proud of our local Merigomish Schoolhouse Market, which is also a member of the Farmers Market Cooperative of Nova Scotia, and have been regular vendors there since 2019. In 2021 we were pleased to become online and in-person vendors here at the New Glasgow Farmers Market.
What we don’t grow or sustainably forage ourselves, we source from local farmers/producers in our area.
Practicing good stewardship of the land is important whether foraging or growing, and we employ a multifaceted approach to pest control. This includes limiting the pesky critters by companion planting, row coverings, the use of diatomaceous earth and neem oil, and of course - old fashioned hand picking. Enter potato bugs here!!!
So that’s us in a nutshell!
We’re always open to new ideas so feel free to contact us with any of your comments or suggestions – we’d love to hear from you!