LAND OPPORTUNITY: Market garden opportunity with accommodations on-site – Saanichton, BC

We always have new land opportunities coming into our inventory, some of which aren’t on our blog yet! Get in touch with a Land Matcher at bclmp@youngagrarians.org to learn about the latest opportunities and to access free B.C. Land Matching Program services in your region.

ABOUT THE LAND

Nestled in the historic agricultural community of the Mt. Newton Valley, this 10-acre property has up to two acres available for organic mixed vegetables!

The land was originally home to a daffodil farm, before being run as an herb farm for several years. More recently, the property has been used for a variety of land-based projects, including a food forest, a market garden, and a small meat rabbit farm. Nowadays, the current landholder has an established vegetable/herb garden, a herd of nine goats, and about 60 laying hens on the property.

The available growing space is a mix of established gardens and uncultivated land. The established gardens consist of a small, deer fenced vegetable garden with raised beds, and an additional flat market garden plot. The market garden plot comes with crop trellising and some existing irrigation infrastructure. The rest of the available growing space has not previously been used for agriculture, but has a southern slope, good drainage, and excellent sun exposure.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a great opportunity to grow organic vegetables while living on-site in Saanichton!

The landholder loves the land and is looking forward to sharing the space with a farmer (or two!). The landholder would love to explore a long-term arrangement wherein the farmer provides land stewardship services in exchange for growing space and accommodations (in a fifth wheel trailer).

There is a barn on-site with some space for storage, as well as a greenhouse that could be made available. Additional infrastructure includes a rabbit hutch, an outdoor kitchen and shower, and a couple of other farm buildings. A variety of hand tools are available for use, and the landholder also owns a small tractor, which may be used by the farmer, subject to discussion.

ABOUT THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate for this opportunity would be an experienced and capable farmer (or pair of farmers) with a community-minded and cooperative nature. Given that the landholder lives and cares for livestock on the property, this opportunity would be well-suited to farmers who enjoy sharing space and working alongside others.

If you’re looking to start or expand a small-scale organic market garden operation on the Island, this may be the opportunity for you!

GET IN TOUCH!

This land is available through the B.C. Land Matching Program. If you are interested in this land opportunity, please contact the Vancouver Island Land Matcher, Ari Westhaver, at ari@youngagrarians.org with the link to this post any relevant photos, and a paragraph or two on each of the following:

• About you
• Your farming experience
• Your plans for the land

For more details about this opportunity, check out the UMAP Listing for this property.

For more land opportunities, and to learn about the B.C. Land Matching Program, please visit youngagrarians.org/land.

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, with additional support from Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.