JUNE 10: Oliver, BC – Forbes Farm Tour & Potluck

Posted by Emily Jubenvill on May 08, 2018 2 Comments

Forbes Farm is on 13 acres in Oliver, BC, and is a very diverse operation of vegetables, tree fruits, berries, herbs, nuts, apiary, and livestock. Join Gord and Steven on this tour of the farm and learn about their wetland conservation, and diverse production methods and practices. Their farm was the first in the Okanagan to plant almonds, and now the trees are in full production at 12-14 years old. They were told the trees would never survive, but they tried anyways and proved naysayers wrong!

Their farm is a testament to their “let’s try it” attitude with a broad and diverse range of produce. Their highly fertile and mineral rich soil makes their fruit taste amazing – they’ve heard many times that their peaches are the most flavourful people have ever had. Gord loves learning about the geology of the area, and how that’s contributed to the soil they’re working with. Overall, they’re pushing to make their farm more efficient and prove that you can grow a lot of produce (and diversity) on a relatively small farm.

When: Sunday June 10th, 4pm – 7pm

  • 4:00pm: Farm Tour
  • 5:30pm-ish: Potluck – bring a dish to share, utensils and plate to eat with, a chair or blanket to sit on, and your family and friends!

Where:  6722 Meadows Dr, Oliver, BC

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About Forbes Farm

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Just south of McIntyre Bluff, the narrowest point of the Okanagan Valley, is Forbes Farm. Gord and Steven’s parents bought the farm about 44 years ago, and then Gord and Steven took it over from them about 20 years ago. Gord feels particularly grateful for being able to learn how to farm from his parents and other knowledgable farms in the area. Forbes Farm went organic when their mother was diagnosed with cancer, and they wanted to decrease their exposure to chemicals and increase their concentration on improving the land and soil for future generations.

When asked, “why do you farm?” Gord responded that they want to know where their food comes from, ensure it’s high quality, and in the long term leave the land as healthy or better than before they got there. This is also why they choose to farm organically.

Forbes Farm is involved with a lot of local environmental groups. The protected wetlands on their farm is a focal point of these partnerships. Their father always said that the wetland was the most valuable part of their farm, and after identifying several endangered species it is now protected and has a public walking trail through it. The birds and insects living in the wetland enhance the ecosystem of the farm as a whole.

Gord’s favourite farm tool is the stirrup hoe, and his guilty pleasure is snowboarding.

SOUTH OKANAGAN EVENT SERIES

Keen to check out farms and meet farmers in the South Okanagan? Join us at our Farmers Dotter Organics Farm Tour & Potluck on May 27 in Cawston, and Organic Only Farm Tour & Potluck on June 24th as well!

This event is made possible with funding from the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan|Similkameen.

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