FILLED – LAND OPPORTUNITY: Half Acre for Vegetable Production at Botanical Garden and Herb Farm – Royston, BC

We have more land opportunities than what is listed here! Get in touch with a Land Matcher at land@youngagrarians.org to access our full land inventory and B.C. Land Matching Program support in your region.

ABOUT THE LAND

Innisfree Farm and Botanic Garden comprises 7 acres in Royston, on the border of a large forest, some of it a public park. There is currently about half an acre in vegetable and fruit production with very fertile loamy sand soil, heavily amended over the years. The space is available for lease right away, with the potential to expand to one acre of production into space which has been left fallow in recent years.

The land is fully deer fenced and includes a small greenhouse. Irrigation water source is a shallow well with an immersed pump delivering about 2 m3 each day – powered by a solar panel, so only operational on sunny days. There are irrigation faucets across the property providing municipal water as well. The site is easily accessible via a driveway and gate to the main road.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

The landholders want the leased space to continue to produce vegetables, as well as for the productive berry rows (primarily raspberries, blueberries and some currants) to be maintained. The farm hosts regular workshops and events on site, particularly through the summer months, and is also home to a cafe which is open Friday-Sunday through the summer. Ideally, the farmer would make use of the on-site farm store (complete with coolers) and market produce to the high number of visitors to the property as well as to the cafe’s kitchen.

This opportunity is best suited to a farmer (or farmers) who is adaptable, self motivated and collaborative. The farmer must have strong farming and vegetable production experience, be comfortable around farming tools and machinery and a non-smoker. The ideal grower is community minded and open to engaging with the public to some extent, though of course recognizing their priority will be farming. Apprentices who work on the rest of the property could be available to support the leasing farmer from time to time.

The landholders are also open to production of more medicinal plants and the farmer keeping up to two dozen chickens. The farm is not certified organic but uses only natural farming practices and no pesticides. The gardens are open to the public in the summer so safety and appearances matter.

There is no housing currently available onsite. If the agreement is going well and additional growing space is needed in the future neighbours are willing to lease land as well.

GET IN TOUCH

This land opportunity is available through the B.C. Land Matching Program. Reach out to the Vancouver Island Land Matcher at kiyomi@youngagrarians.org to start a conversation and learn about next steps.

Learn more about the land (and other Land Listings in your region) on the Young Agrarians UMAP. For more about the B.C. Land Matching Program, please visit youngagrarians.org/land

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded on Vancouver Island by the Province of British Columbia, with support from Cowichan Valley Regional District and Patagonia.