In 2012, Kelowna farmer Curtis Stone grew more than 22,700 kilograms of food - without owning a single acre of land. The founder of Green City Acres, a successful urban organic farm, was one of several speakers at a workshop on 'small lot' agriculture in Langley Saturday. Four hundred people turned out for the event, which was organized by the Langley Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, a non-profit group working to put idle Langley farmland to use.
At the workshop, Stone challenged the idea that farms need to be big in order to be successful. Four years ago, fed up with the way the planet is being "plundered", Stone saw no choice but to live by his convictions and grow his own food.
He began to rent yards from Kelowna homeowners, giving them a weekly basket of produce in return for the use of their land. He uses a method called "spin farming" and grows high-value crops in densely planted beds. From a 6,000 sq. ft yard, he generates about $60,000 over an eight month growing season.
The response has been phenomenal: On one backyard farm, near the Kelowna hospital, Stone has a hard time getting work done as passersby stop to ask questions. Many sign up for the farm's CSA box program.
"There's something about farming and growing things and food that people just love," he said. "We're very disconnected from agriculture in our modern world. This lets people see and experience it for themselves."
Stone has perfected his system over the years, capitalizing on the growing interest in local, organic food. He tells would-be farmers to start small and make sure there's a market for their food.
Source: theprovince.com





Announcements
Job Offers
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 -yesterday
- "We can now capture the whole value chain, from young plants to the consumer"
- Dutch Berries: 20 hectares of high-tech strawberry cultivation
- How to shift from optimal growth with LEDs to optimal energy usage
- Adjusting irrigation water: bicarbonates vs. pH
- Carbon footprint of importing food could be 7.5x higher than thought
Top 5 -last month
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2022-08-10 UK: "Now into its 16th season, this site is still extremely efficient"
- 2022-08-09 Dutch Berries: 20 hectares of high-tech strawberry cultivation
- 2022-08-09 Italy: New 2 hectare project makes products available all year round
- 2022-08-09 How Singapore is turning multi-story car parks into farms
- 2022-08-08 Japanese strawberry grower increases production thanks to hanging kit
- 2022-08-08 IE: Boyne Valley community greenhouses helping to feed the hungry
- 2022-08-08 NZ: Downsizing crops, but passion for tomatoes remains strong
- 2022-07-22 Belgium: "In comparison to last year, we’ve doubled production, as well as our revenue"
- 2022-07-22 China: New demand for leafy vegetables brings opportunity to the industry
- 2022-07-21 China: Looking into a 73 hectare greenhouse park
- 2022-07-19 How plants are cooling greenhouses during the heatwave
- 2022-07-14 US (NY): Food trends are driving the demand for specialty mushrooms
- 2022-07-12 German retailer Kaufland and horti-family Reichenspurner open new greenhouse
- 2022-07-11 "New farms start operating by the end of the year"
- 2022-07-07 "Once you have fought temperatures above 35°C for strawberries, leafy greens aren't very daunting"
- 2022-07-05 Founder of Fairtrasa opens up during podcast about being kidnapped by Mexican gangsters
- 2022-06-29 Cock van Overbeek passed away
- 2022-06-20 Improve greenhouse management efficiency to counter lack of labor
- 2022-06-14 No drama with climate management at Drama greenhouse, Greece
- 2022-06-06 Leafy greens and vine crops grow in tropical Thai greenhouse