Friday, May 27, 2011

Just another small scale farm

I came across Green Girl Gardens when I was doing some reading about the current Peninsula Coop election process.  One of the "girls", Jeanette Sheehy, is running for a position on the board.


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They are one of the many new set of young small scale farmers/gardeners that have come of the food security movement and trying their hand at raising food.   I wish them well and will try out some of their produce if I get a chance, but I suspect they will not last more than a couple of years.

Farming is hard work and produces low returns.   From the late 60s to the early 80s there was a strong back the land movement in BC and in general most of those nouveau farmers did not last.   As one of them told me once "Yeah, I tried growing wheat by hand and doing all the harvesting with a sickle and then threshing it, but in the end my life is simpler not doing that."   The people in their 20s to early 30s coming out of the food security movement are unlikely to last long.  

You can buy their produce at their road side stall at 1133 Mount Newton Cross Road, the Sidney Summer Market, Moss Street Market and the Centennial Square Market.  Having sold at a farmer's market in the past, the volume of production they need to sustain being at three markets is fairly large.  I have no idea how much land they are working and what their scale of production is.

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