Our farming history is brief, because well…we just began! But despite our short history, we are excited and dedicated to our belief in ethical farming, putting more back into this Earth than we take out. We purchased our little farm in August 2016. It was a great location just 1 km off HWY 1 in Chilliwack, and it had extra storage which was well suited for our existing business Antiques By Design, but it
PAST STORY
We purchased our little farm in August 2016. It was a great location just 1 km off HWY 1 in Chilliwack, and it had extra storage which was well suited for our existing business Antiques By Design, but it came with some under-utilized fallow farmland. In 2018, after much discussion about what to do with the extra land, pooling of our resources and a few renovations, our children and grandchildren moved onto the farm and we are now a multi-generational family of ten, including Sammy the dog.
After living here a little while, we collectively decided we wanted to farm the land in a way that would give back to the land, be sustainable, ethical and fun. We wanted to use the remaining land for its highest potential and best use, not just feeding a couple of cows. We did not have much farming experience, and also did not have a huge land base to work with. Although we did not know what we were going to raise or grow, it was firmly decided that whatever crop we decided to farm, it would be done sustainably, giving respect to the land and air, and be a positive influence on our environment and climate change.
LEARNING DECISION
It was at this point that our eldest daughter took a gardening course from Dan Oostenbrink at The Local Harvest Market. Dan is an advocate for No-Till farming, and no doubt convinced Michelle that it is the only way to go. She came back very excited about the potential of No-Till Organic farming. We proceeded to do our research on No-Till and Organic Farming and quickly realized that it would fulfill our goal of sustainable and ethical farming. So with this in mind, we have applied for and are in the process of being granted our Certified Organic certification.
PRESENT STORY
In the three years on our journey growing garlic since then, we have focused our efforts on growing one main crop, Garlic. We are growing garlic for seed as well as for culinary consumption. There are four main pillars to our farming method:
• Certified Organic
• Cover Cropping and Crop Rotation
• No-Till Farming
• Raising from Bulbils
Click on each item for more details.
FUTURE STORY
A saying my father taught me when I was young, and have always believed and striven to achieve is, “if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right!” So with that in mind, we are doing everything we can to not just grow garlic, but to grow Great Garlic!
