We are a 72 year old couple who have been living on our little homestead farm for 46 years. Our somewhat remote land comprises 13 acres with about 1 acre of vegetable gardens, and mixed fruit and nut tree orchard. The remaining acreage is in forest. We grow most of the fruit and nut varieties that our climate allows. These include apple (which includes over 25 different varieties), pears, plums, pluots, peaches, apricots, cherries, figs, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, haskaps, almonds, filberts, walnuts, and others.
Land Details
Participant in BC Land Matching Program
Yes
Total land size in acres
13
Wooded Area
Yes - 10+ acres is mostly wooded
Cultivable Area
2 acres
Expansion potential (acres)
Yes - Potential to clear another acre or two
Zoning
Non-ALR
Current use
Vegetable - Mixed
Livestock - Few hens for eggs
Grain - very small scale of many types
Seed - Save our own vegetable seeds
Orchard/Fruit - Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum, Apricot, Asian Pear, Cherry, Walnuts, Filberts, and misc.
Current practices
Organic -
State of the surface of the cultivable area
Garden is laid out in Beds
Orchard consists of mainly mature trees in a grass and clover floor
Description and historical use of land available for farming
Although we sell surplus fruit from our orchard, our original purpose was to try to live sustainably by growing, preserving and storing (we have a root cellar) our own food, living a conserver lifestyle, choosing to live on a lower income, thus having a lower impact on the planet.
Although we are not certified organic, we use organic principals in our production. We grow many varieties of vegetables, seeds, and grains and save many of our own vegetable seeds. We have devised ways to process seeds, grains and nuts using devices of our own making. We continue to experiment with ways to make things better and/or more convenient on our farm. We try different varieties of vegetables and fruits to find ones more suited to our tastes, and that work better in our climate. In the orchard we do this by grafting different varieties onto established trees.
Road Access
Yes - The road to the property is on a Forest Service Road that is maintained but usually takes longer to be plowed in the winter as it is a remote area with few full-time residents.
Electricity
Yes - We live in a hand built earth sheltered house made of recycled wood and stone. We heat with wood, much of our canning is done using a wood-fired cook stove, we generate our own electricity using a unique, self designed, micro-hydro system, but the power supply is limited. We have a solar hot water heater in use for spring, summer and early fall.
Cell Service
No - No cell service, but do have phone and internet service
Long-term goal or vision for land
We also have taught a garden and orchard course (Growing Through the Seasons) on our farm, starting in 2008. We have a website for this course (www.brightridgefarm.com.) where one can get a idea of our little operation by watching the video under the “Course” section of the website.
Living this type of lifestyle involves much more than growing our own food. It requires a mind set that can trouble shoot, maintain, repair and create infrastructure, because living this way requires you to do things for yourself.
Although we have had milk goats and rabbits in the past, at present we have only 5 laying hens. Although we do not eat a lot of meat, we are omnivores.
We work from science based information on our farm and in our lives. We are careful and precise in our work on our homestead. This requires quite a bit of energy. As we age, we know that our energy levels will be decreasing. So, we would like to find a person or couple who would enjoy this type of lifestyle, and would like to learn from our experiences in running this type of operation. The idea would be that as our energy levels decrease, and we can do less, the person(s) would gradually take on more and more of the work.
Although we sell our surplus fruit, and make a small income from it, it is quite possible for someone to make a living income from the land, if so inclined.
Known environmental hazards (wildfire area, flooding, etc.)
Yes - Wildfire and wildlife.
Current residents living on property
Yes - A married couple
Availability of farm buildings
Yes - presently a few outbuildings and sheds.
Land is fenced
Yes - All cleared land is fenced, including the orchard and garden
Availability of farm machinery and tools
Yes - hand tools and electric processing tools. No tractor as operation is on a small scale
Water source
Stream/river -
Irrigation system -
Other - micro hydro system in place
Water rights to these sources
Yes - Domestic, irrigation, and water power licenses are in place
On-site housing
Yes - There is a trailer on the land for accommodation. Additionally there is potential to bring your own yurt, trailer, RV or tiny house, onto the property for accommodation, or can have the ability to build another home on the property.
Restricted access of visitors
No
Types of production you are open to
Other - We presently sell surplus tree fruit, but are open to many kinds of small scale agriculture production.
Practices preferred
Organic -
Agronomic potential
Good
Soil details
Texture - Silty loam but shallow
Rocky soil - Lot of rock in subsoil
Slope orientation and degree of slope (specify) - Southern slope of only a few degrees
General fertility (nutrients) - Cultivated land has a good amount of nutrients, raw land is treed and has good PH, but is very low in Nitrogen
