History

History

The farm was first cultivated in about 1910 when the Harris family bought the land as a turnip farm and built a 2 story salt block home on 20 acres. It acted as a spill over for the Scarf house which was the stagecoach stop when Otter Point Road was the main route to Jordan River, Shirley and other points north of Sooke. The farm has been owned by a number of families since then but was bought by Jan and Mary Alice Johnson in 1986. At that time the land was covered with Scotch broom, the house was in disrepair and the barn listed to the north. Jan and Mary Alice restored the farm house with the help of friends. They have always rented the farm house up until this year. The goal in 2007 is to integrate the farm house into the farm as a place to teach, relax, learn, live, and cook good food.

We began producing food commercially in 1990 using organic methods and were certified organic in 1994. Immediately restaurants and individuals sought out the organic fruit and vegetables grown on the farm and folks interested in learning how to farm organically started to visit and volunteer on the farm. With a teaching background, Mary Alice welcomed a chance to teach and learn together organic growing methods, marketing, preserving, and cooking good food. To date, over 1000 volunteers have spent from a day to several years at the farm learning how to grow food. Many of the volunteers have brought exciting skills of their own to the farm which we have incorporated into the farm activities. At the farm we teach such skills as growing, collecting and drying medicinal herbs, building temporary and permanent shelters using natural materials around us, baking bread, making baskets, welding, animal husbandry, plant propagation, orcharding, bee-keeping, seed saving.

The farm has been at the centre of a growing organic food production community with farm members establishing and supporting farmers markets, building local and national farm support organizations, participating in a documentary about women in organic farming, teaching courses and giving workshops in organic farming methods at community colleges, community schools, conferences and other events. In addition, the farm is leading the way in natural building.