Bowen Island’s Farmer’s say with an interesting mix of sun, heat and rain, this summer has been a good one for their gardens and sales at the weekly tailgate and monthly farmers markets.
Aubin Van Berkel called the weather, “confusing,” and mentioned that prior to a few very wet days several weeks ago, her well ran dry. Despite this, she reported a bumper crop of figs and apples – aided in part by the presence of a new bee-hive installed by Nancy Leonard and Ian Kennard.
Corrina Headley says that for Endswell Farm and the crew at crew from Home Farm Garden growing food there, this season has been fruitful but challenging. still looks back on that season as “the honeymoon.”
“Last summer we faced a drought, but we keep describing it as a honeymoon. This year was a lot of really, really hard work and long hours,” says Headley. “Early in the season we lost our whole kale crop to some kind of Brassica bug and we it is only just starting to come back. We also encountered struggles in the greenhouse due to the wet weather earlier in the season.”
Headley says that what has been particularly encouraging this summer is the growth of the weekly tailgate markets in the BICS parking lot.
“I feel like they’re really catching on, there are more farmers coming out but also more people coming out to buy,” she says. “Community support re-enforces the feeling that growing food is a really important job.”
Charmaine Heffelfinger, of Little Song Farm, says her second season of production for sale has been one of “increased production and efficiencies.”
“I’ve terraced my garden, standardized my bed sizes and added in a drip-irrigation system,” she says. “Overall, I guess I’ve just been more strategic.”
She adds that from her perspective, this year’s tailgate markets have had a greater turn-out than last.
“More people are growing, more people are buying,” she says. “I would predict that in a few years, there will be a full-on farmers market every weekend throughout the summer.”
Sarah Haxby, who runs the farmers markets and the tailgate markets for the Bowen Ag Alliance says she is also very happy with the 2016 growing season.
“The markets are definitely gaining a following with more people of all ages growing and selling a wider variety of produce, and more people showing up regularly to buy,” she says. “And everyone has been truly impressed by the bumper crop of fruit our farmers have produced this year.”
Haxby says that in a few week’s time, members of the Ag Alliance will start planning for next year and decide whether there to increase the number of markets in the coming season. The Ag Alliance are also getting ready for the Bowen Grows Community Feast, which they are sponsoring this year as a community potluck dinner October 7th at BICS.
