FARM NEWS

We Found A New Farm!!!

Five weeks ago we were told the unfortunate news that the property where we are currently farming is going to be sold and that we would have to leave by next fall. We told our story to the community and the response we received was truly remarkable.

We had over 20 community members offer us land opportunities. And of those offers there were five properties that fit the criteria we were looking for. After looking at all five properties and meeting with the generous owners we were able to make our final decision.

Our farm is moving to Pass Creek! A regular customer of ours has a beautiful property in a quiet little nook in Pass Creek. The soil looks fertile, there is ample access to agricultural water and there is even a place for us to rent on the property. We couldn’t be more thrilled!

This experience has made us feel like we truly belong here in the Kootenays. The generosity and support we’ve been receiving has been heartwarming beyond belief.

We just want to again say thank you to everyone who reached out. In one of the scariest moments in our farming careers, when our livelihood was on the line, we asked the community for help and the community provided ❤️

NEW PRODUCTS

New Potatoes

Description: New Potatoes are young potatoes that have been freshly dug and have not been cured. To us, these new potatoes feel special. Potatoes are thought of as a winter food but these new potatoes feel more like a summer food.

This variety of potato is known as Warba. They have very thin skins that can be rubbed off with your fingers with beautiful hints of vibrant pink. Their moisture content is much higher than a mature potato which gives them an airier, creamier texture. And the flavour, oh my! Because the sugars haven't converted into starch yet, new potatoes have a much sweeter flavour with notes of butter. These are without a doubt the yummiest potatoes we have ever had! Try them baked, fried or use them in a potato salad.

Details: Sold per pound.

Cherry Tomatoes

Description: A mix of plump and juicy cherry tomatoes. Includes Super Sweet 100's, Sungolds and Sunrise bumblebee.

Details: Sold per pint

Description: Big beautiful slicer tomatoes. Perfect for burgers and sandwiches!

Details: Sold per pound.

Grown by Wild Valley Farm, Passmore.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 🍎

Where have all the Monarch Butterflies gone?

Have you seen a Monarch butterfly this year? I'm sad to say I have not seen a single one. And I'm feeling anxious because I wonder "will I ever see a monarch again?" Over the past two decades, their numbers have fallen significantly. So much so that they have officially been listed as an endangered species. Scientists believe it's the usual suspects - global warming and deforestation, but the worst culprit is industrial agriculture.

In Alberta, thousands of acres of prairie have been tilled up to plant monocultures like wheat and canola to be made into processed junk foods. This ends up destroying butterfly habitat as well as the Monarch caterpillar’s only food source, the beautiful milkweed plant. This contributes to the death of the Monarch. When we douse the Okanagan in pesticides that are highly toxic to butterflies and other pollinators in order have perfect looking fruit, we contribute to the death of the Monarch.

You cannot monetize the Monarch. It doesn't make a product that someone can sell. It doesn't contribute to GDP. So in the eyes of our industrialized society it is deemed worthless. But to any sane human the Monarch isn't worthless - It's priceless. However, if we don't start caring about all the priceless gifts we’ve been blessed with such as the Monarchs, the old growth forests, the pristine lakes, we will lose them all to destruction in the name of the almighty dollar.

We know how to save the Monarchs. We could plant more milkweed, we could track their migration patterns and create more butterfly habitats for them, we could stop spraying so many pesticides and herbicides. We could stop supporting industrial agriculture. The questions is, when will we care enough to actually apply those solutions?