This summer’s seemingly endless sun isn’t only good for tourists! It has given us an incredible season for growing food! While the water woes of past hot dry summers seem to be receding as the SCRD works toward completing its water metering project, we still had to move to Stage 2 restrictions on July 11.
As my own gardening efforts become ever more sporadic, I find I am more and more grateful for the market garden kiosks on Reed Road which provide us with the most delicious, succulent salad greens in great variety. Henry Reed Farm, conveniently located at the corner of Henry and Reed Roads, is the oldest of these, having been an organic family farm for 40 years.
Martin and Tracy Kiewitz are the original farmers. After homesteading through the 1970s, they started market gardening in the 1980s after Martin, who had been working in the logging industry on the Coast, decided there had to be a better way.
Two weeks ago, Martin, Tracey, and their daughter Faye, along with Faye’s husband Scotty Collison, generously freed up an hour of their very precious time to chat with me about Henry Reed Farm, and what a delightful hour it was!
When you look out over the acres of land that they have turned into such a productive enterprise, you can really start to understand the idea of a family farm. There has to be a family behind it. It probably couldn’t work any other way. Everyone in the family works on the farm. They hire a local and loyal crew of around six to 10 workers, depending on the season, but the family is the beating heart of it. Faye Kiewitz, whom readers will remember wrote the Elphinstone Chronicles before I started in March, is learning how to take the ropes from her parents who are hoping to eventually retire. Faye has two siblings, Budd and Rose, who are both legally blind, but help manage the farm full time. Rose is in charge of minding the veg stand, as well as weighing and bagging of all the produce, and the family have devised accessible methods to assist her in this important step of getting their product to market. Budd, a jack of all trades, works with machinery around the farm and tends to the hundreds of chickens. He greeted me charmingly when I arrived, but got right back to work.
You can pick up this produce, beautifully presented at the Henry Reed Farm stand on Henry Road. Early is best as they sell out quickly. You can also find it in the refrigerators at many grocery stores and restaurants from Gibsons to Egmont.
Martin says they mostly learned farming from books plus “good old trial and error.” He thoroughly investigated a number of farming techniques, such as biodynamic agriculture. (My own nostalgia for the 1970s bubbled up at this point as I reminisced about my own limited attempts at growing food in my 20s. Don’t we all worship the fertility goddess in some way or place?) Martin says he started small and grew by small steps. The farm was certified organic in 1996 and is still an explosion of living green. There is definitely some alchemy going on here. But don’t let it scare you.
Speaking of explosions, I was shocked to hear fireworks going off on Saturday night (Aug. 2) on or near Chaster Beach. Now that’s scary. I like to think that no locals would act so foolishly, so please, if you see or hear anyone doing so, speak up and let them know it’s not okay. Campfires are also banned until Oct. 31, unless rescinded before then.
As we start the slide away from summer and the harvest gathers momentum, and you fill your nostrils, stomachs and hearts with temptation and satisfaction all at the same time, take a moment to think about the force of nature that is the Kiewitz family who makes it happen for you right here at Henry Reed Farm. Spend your money close to home.
