The Regenerative Agriculture Saucerer: Erik Begg's Journey into Sorry Sauce
Sometimes, a career in farming is stumbled upon unexpectedly. Erik Begg describes his journey into Sorry Sauce Saucerer, which started in Burlington's suburbs:
"I thought backyard gardening would be a relaxing hobby that paid off with free food. Unfortunately, we had a family of raccoons... they destroyed everything except for a ghost pepper... I made a hot sauce with it and brought it to work. The bottle passed around from table to table until one guy came over and asked for more. It was a 23 bottle batch, and it was gone in 2 days."
He called it Sorry Sauce.
"I was hooked, so I started ordering pepper seeds from around the world and trying new recipes. We didn't have much space, so I grew in buckets around a swimming pool."
In 2017, Erik and his family made a dramatic move from Burlington to an old church in Mapleton with 3/4 acre of land. He named his garden there the Garden of Apologies. In March 2021, he added the Greenhouse of Extreme Regret; in 2023, the Greenhouse of Extremer Regret and added an extra plot of regenerative farmland in Rockwood.
The Garden of Apologies, once dominated by a lush lawn and chemical treatments, has transformed over seven years. Erik replaced the grass with topsoil and compost, creating rich, bio-active soil, and uses no-till methods and landscape fabric to control weeds. The family also recycles compostable material from their household and Sorry Sauce back into the soil.
In 2023, Erik met Experimental Acres staff at a seminar and explored the opportunity to extend his growing season, while maintaining a carbon-neutral approach. Erik joined Experimental Acres in 2024. His project involves setting up a microturbine and a solar panel with battery backup and an inverter to power his greenhouse heaters sustainably.
Erik also completed soil testing through Experimental Acres which revealed the need to adjust compost usage and avoid wood ash to maintain optimal soil pH for peppers.
- Collaborated with municipal staff, including leveraging support from our iconic Taste Real programme and business advice from our economic development team
- To produce Sorry Sauce, he uses the commercial kitchen at the PMD Arena in Palmerston.
- He swaps ingredients with other produces, sources locally whenever possible, and collaborates with other local businesses