On Sunday, October 23rd 2022, we gathered with 15 farm and tool enthusiasts for an outdoor Land Social and Tool School at Linden Lane Farms in Krestova (near Nelson).
Linden Lane Farms operates on leased family land, as well as two other properties in the area, with agreements supported through the BC Land Matching Program. Products are grown on the nearby leased plots and brought to the main farm site for processing and distribution.
We enjoyed a light potluck harvest lunch, toured the farm and learned about the farming that they are doing on leased land to expand local food production. Thank you to our hosts and everyone who joined us for this lovely sunny fall day and for sharing your delicious dishes and time with us! Just over a week later we’re covered in snow here so we got together just in time it seems!
Check out some photos from the event below!
Kootenay Local Agricultural Society Tool Library
The Tool Library is a unique resource available to the public. Kootenay Local Agricultural Society (KLAS) members receive a discount. Tools were carefully selected to ensure they would help farmers be more efficient, but which—because of cost or infrequency of need—farmers wouldn’t buy themselves.
The centrepieces of their fleet are BCS walking tractors and implements such as the tiller, rotary plow, and flail mower that quickly prepare soil and incorporate cover crops on farms the use land intensively with diverse crops. They also have honey extractors, hoop benders, an essential oil still, BCS hay making equipment, root washers, and dehydrators to name a few. All the tools in the library were purchased with grants from Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) in 2009 and more tools are on their way from a successful 2021 grant from CBT. Thank you CBT!
About Linden Lane Farms
Linden Lane Farms is located on a multi-generational family-operated farm in Krestova, situated at the southern mouth of the Slocan Valley. The farm is 150 acres consisting of a mixture of forest, pasture and fields on amazing sandy-loam soil, 25 minutes west of Nelson, and 15 minutes east of Castlegar. On this land, Linden Lane Farms produces vegetables, small fruits and nursery plants that they sell online, at local farmers’ markets, grocery stores, and through their CSA.
The Carr family has been farming in Krestova since 1978. In 2012, grandson Matthew began leasing land from his grandparents and has since grown Linden Lane Farms into a successful business producing on 8.0 acres with the help of the entire family and 10 staff.
They are members of Kootenay Local Agricultural Society (KLAS), and house one of three KLAS tool libraries on their property in Krestova.
You can check out Linden Lane Farms’ online farm shop here, Facebook can be found here and you can follow them on Instagram @lindenlanefarms
GOT LAND? WANT LAND?
Through the B.C. Land Matching Program, Young Agrarians offers support to farmers looking for land for their farm business, and landholders looking for farmers to farm their land. We’ve made more than 204 matches on over 9,100 acres to date! The Columbia Basin Land Matcher will be attending the event to answer any questions the B.C. Land Matching Program. For those unable to join us, you can send a message to hailey@youngagrarians.org for more information.
The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded in the Columbia Basin by the Province of British Columbia, with support from Columbia Basin Trust and Patagonia.