Tag Archives: friends

our first official farm work party!

 

Img_4220Img_4147Img_4155Img_4170Img_4163Img_4161Img_4156Img_4159Img_4158Img_4168Img_4173Img_4176Img_4199Img_4201Img_4177Img_4184Img_4179Img_4172Img_4171Img_4185Img_4193Img_4194Img_4166Img_4186Img_4197Img_4198Img_4200Img_4189Img_4190Img_4214Img_4191Img_4203Img_4162Img_4213Img_4205Img_4212Img_4196Img_4209Img_4208Img_4211Img_4207Img_4206Img_4210Img_4204Img_4192Img_4216Img_4215Img_4222

This past weekend we hosted our first official farm work party and it was a great success!  After a week of rain, the sun came out and gave us perfect weather and a great group of friends came out and gave us the manpower we needed to get this farm up and running.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined our work party!  Your support was a really big encouragement to us and made us realize how achievable our dreams for this place might be.  It was awesome to get the big kick start we needed with all of your help. 

Although we didn’t get everyone in the group photo above, we did capture everyone on film at some point in the day, so check out all the photos for a visual record of the work we did.  Thank you Cary & Tommi, Mike & Brie, Shirlea & Keith (mom & dad), Dan & Jeannette and their three lovely daughters, Zach, Melody, Matt C, Bob, and of course the farm crew members Jordan, Melanie, Matt & Chantalle and Chris & Julie.  We definitely couldn’t have done it without you!

And now for our list of work party accomplishments:

  • built a gate into the fence that separates the backyard and raspberry patch from the field where we plan on building our deep bed gardens;
  • insulated and installed the interior walls of the chicken coop;
  • put a new door on the chicken coop;
  • mowed down all the long grasses in the field where we plan to build the deep bed gardens;
  • mowed down all the long grasses in the smaller plot area between the barn and the chicken coop;
  • dug up and rototilled the plot between the barn and the chicken coop, prepping it for the garlic and other fall veggies we’ll plant there;
  • cut down excess blackberry brambles in the field where we’ll put the deep beds;
  • pruned trees alongside the ditch;
  • cleaned and dug out the drainage ditches;
  • weeded, thinned and transplanted the raspberries;
  • completed the roof on the composting toilet building;
  • sealed up the leaky windows on the motorhome;
  • began burning wood from our big pile of ‘wood to be burned’ that’s been building up for the last few months;
  • painted the house address numbers (that are nailed to our fence post at the start of the driveway) a fresh coat of bright white;

There was probably more that I’m forgetting at the moment, but all in all, a VERY successful work party at the farm.  I think the coolest thing about the whole day was the vibe.  It was really relaxed and fun and very productive at the same time.  For those of you who came out, we hope you had fun and we hope you’ll come out again!

 

A visit from the masters of Six Masters’ Farm

Img_4132Img_4133Img_4134Img_4135Img_4136Img_4137Img_4138Img_4139Img_4141Img_4142Img_4143Img_4145

Last weekend we had a really special visit from Tony and Marlene of Six Masters’ Farm.  Tony and Marlene make up half of the combined venture that is Six Masters’ Farm.  They’re also our friend Cary’s uncle and aunt.  As soon as Cary heard about our farming plans, she insisted that we connect with Tony and Marlene.  Tony and Marlene are both academics and last year Tony and his farming partner Walter left their previous careers and embarked on a farming adventure of their own.


Six Masters’ Farm is located in Chilliwack, BC, and specializes in beef, duck, chicken and rabbit.  They take great care of their animals, giving them lots of space to move around in and feeding them only natural, chemical free, hormone free and pesticide free food.  They use only pigeon manure which their website states, “…is reputedly the best and most balanced of all natural fertilizers. According to ancient Egyptian texts, the Pharaohs kept this poop under lock and key because it was reputed to have magical properties when applied to the land…”. 

Obviously, all of this information made us pretty eager to meet Tony and Marlene so last sunday night, we had them over to our farm-in-the-making for a farm tour and communal dinner – and most importantly a chance to glean some insight, tips and lessons learned from their own farming experiences.

It was an EXCELLENT visit and we all enjoyed Tony and Marlene’s company.  Both colourful characters (in a good way!) in their own right, Tony and Marlene shared their story with us and all the farming adventures they’ve had so far.  They also shared two ducks from their property and we had an amazing feast of duck (stuffed with rhubarb!), roasted potatoes and salad, lots of wine and a chocolate mousse & raspberry dessert.  Delicious!

I took a lot of notes of what was discussed that night, but I’m pretty sure that notebook is sitting on my office desk at my day job right now, so I won’t be sharing those tidbits just yet, but I wanted to get this blog post up and give a big shout out and thank you to Tony and Marlene!  THANK YOU and please come back again soon!

We haven’t been out to their farm yet, but we’ll definitely make the trip and if you’re looking for some local, healthy, delicious, farm-raised meat, check out their contact info and farm details on their website!