Ragāres herb farm in Skrīveri municipality, 80 km from Riga is run by Jānis Vaivars and his small family, who, along with the farm also inherited recipes, gardening and farming traditions from Jānis’ grandmother and grandfather, scientists and agronomists at Skrīveri Agricultural Institute. Based on the conclusion that “organic farming is more sustainable, economically sound and has a higher average yield potential” they started Ragāres in 1982. Now the herb farm is well known in Latvia.

Around 100 edible fruits, berries, herbs and medicinal plants are grown on 7.5 hectares, according to permaculture principles. The farm is located on a hill with a magnificent view of the river Daugava. In the centre there are residential and warehouse buildings and a more labour-intensive commercial garden with a greenhouse, where, at the time of the visit, chilli, physalis, tomatoes and lemon grass were grown among other crops.

All around, the garden branches out into room formations with walls of trellised schisandra and mini kiwi and other fruit- and berry bushes and trees, creating a favorable micro climate and offering habitats, providing shelter, food, and breeding grounds for a multitude of beneficial insects — contributing to a a self-regulating ecosystem, that serves as an immune system for the farm.

As fruits, berries and perennial herbs collect solar energy at different heights and absorb nutrients at different depths in the soil, all available niches are taken advantage of.

The site is embraced by an outer, semi-wild sloping edge zone that is foraged for walnuts, rowan berries, hazel bark for tea, maple sap etc.

• A report by Latvian Grass-LIFE shows that 71% of Latvians use medicinal plants such as mint, linden flowers and chamomile daily. For traditional sauna rituals, deciduous shrubs such as birch, linden and black currant are used. Fermented maple and birch sap also has a long tradition, and Latvian folk songs refer to the magical and medicinal powers of birch.
  
  

• Recommended reading: “Nuts and berries from agroforestry systems in temperate regions can form the foundation for a healthier human diet and improved outcomes from diet‑related diseases.”

Photos:

• Jānis Vaivars shows how hazel bark is used to make tea

• Schisandra chinensis

• Rubus idaeus

• Jona Elfdahl picking schisandra

• Actinidia arguta

• Echinacea purpurea flower with medicinal compounds

• Jānis Vaivars shows trees being tapped for sap

• Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) tree tapped for sap

• Sambucus nigra

• Crocus sativus