The first half-acre of the Farm Roots Mini School is in full production and residents of Boundary Bay are enjoying a wide variety of vegetables and herbs sold through the honour box stand at the former Boundary Beach Elementary site.
You don’t have to live in Boundary Bay to access these fresh delicacies. The farm stand is open during the day and residents of Delta and elsewhere are welcome to see and taste what high school students have been growing the past few months.
Most of the offerings have been grown from seed generously donated by West Coast Seeds and from seed potatoes donated by local farmer Jack Bates. The seeds were germinated by using light tables in the gymnasium of the school and eventually made their way to raised beds and cold frames that were built by the students.
The first field was not a field at all. It was a half-acre of buttercups, wild grasses, blackberries, various weeds and local foliage. The soil had to be amended to be able to grow the wide variety of crops that are on site now and several local businesses donated materials and time to build the working farm.
Thanks to Century Group for soil and peat moss, to Seaside farms for manure, to Royal Wood for wood chips, to Mainland Bobcat for levelling the site and moving the soil, and to Kevin Savage who manned the excavator to bring in the materials. Thanks also to MLA and farmer Ian Paton who brought awareness to the project amongst the local farming community.
Plans are in the midst to secure distribution of the product to various partners in the community but if you want to see what you can put on your dinner plate now, check out www.facebook.com/farmroots or come down to talk with Mike, Allie or Jasmine.
