Do you have financial resources available to start your farm?
Yes
Do you have access to other financial resources (such as a financial partner, loan, etc.) to start your farm?'
No
Project
Farm Name
Baum Geist Cidery
Farm Project Description
I am looking for land on which to plant a small cider orchard. Making traditional cider requires growing proper cider fruit, high in tannin and lower in acidity than table fruit. Vancouver Island has the perfect climate for growing such fruit, like the best growing areas in the West country of England, in Normandy, and in the Basque Country.
Cider apples grow best on full-sized or nearly full-sized root-stocks on an extensively managed system, not on dwarf root-stocks grown intensively. Trees of this size need ~10 years to come into full production. An orchard this size would allow me to plant ~40 trees of this size, and ~25 dwarf trees that would begin bearing sooner (~2-3 years).
I currently make cider in a couple friends' garages in Victoria from apples we pick from trees growing wild and with permission from a few homeowners. We've been pressing them as family/community events where people get to learn about traditional cider-making and get some juice/cider.
To make great cider I need to grow specific types of apples, and that's why I'd like to put down the roots for this hobby cider project for the future.
Preferred Arrangement
Registered Lease on Title -
Lease -
Sale of Land -
Duration of the desired agreement
>10 years
Ideal date to obtain land by
ASAP to get the trees in the ground!
Land & Features Desired
Total Land Size (acres)
0.25-0.5
Wooded Area (acres)
No
Cultivable Area (acres)
0.3
Possibility to expand area currently available (acres)
Yes - 0.2
Zoning
Either
Preferred current state of the surface of the cultivable area
