Growwine Members Biographies

Carl and Lynn Kimmett are the proprietors of a two acre nursery just south of Hwy #7 at Kawartha Lakes Road #36. This nursery specializes in fruiting shrubs and vines, native wildlife shrubs and seeds, French lilacs and Canadian roses. They are situated in hardiness zone 5a and grow their plants in clay loam soil on an open northerly slope.

Carl has spent his working life with woody plants; first as a nursery technician with the Ministry of Natural Resources then as a staff member at the School of Natural Resources, Lindsay where he developed and taught horticultural courses. Carl took early retirement in January 2000. Community life is important to Carl and Lynn. Carl is a director of Lilacs for Lindsay which sponsors a lilac festival each spring and conducts field trials on lilacs.

He is certified under the Forest Gene Conservation Association as a Certified Seed Collector and more recently a member of COVA (Central Ontario Viniculture Association). Carl is a past president of the Lindsay Horticultural Society and Victoria County Master Gardeners. Lynn volunteers her time in the health and wellness field and is Chair of Communications for the Lindsay Presbytery of the United Church of Canada. Their product line is expanding but they tend not to keep large inventories. For small fruits they carry table grapes, hybrid wine grapes, currants, gooseberries, elderberries, raspberries and will supply new varieties upon order. They prefer to sell plants with strong roots in their own pots but will handle bareroot if ordered early in the spring. For specifics, please call or e-mail to discuss your needs.

The issue of wine grape and small fruit hardiness in our area will be under study for many years. We must document our climate and soils to determine that the terroir that we have in the Kawarthas will grow a marketable product. The matching of grape variety to site can only take place after we have documented the site conditions. Native plants grown on their own roots have shown their adaptability to the Kawartha terroir since the last ice age. The varieties that we choose to grow for crops must be within this adaptability range to our changing environment. Field trials will provide the answers.

We believe in knowing both the growing environment on local sites and the genetic potential of your horticultural crop. We do this within a symbiotic relationship with Mother nature. While climate change has arrived it is still an unknown and must be documented. There are new opportunities and challenges with both horticulture and the tourism industry in this region. Small fruits and grapes fit into the value added market i.e. fruit juices, jams and country wines will sell to the health aware public. Consumers also want to see it grown locally and enjoy visiting on site. There are many new crops that will become part of the new wellness mindset in rural Ontario but the entire concept must be marketed as a lifestyle image within the Kawarthas. This is one of the roles of COVA; to take out this message to the local municipal and provincial government.

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