Meet the Farmers
Barbara and Lorne Ebell have always lead active lives and when they purchased the 23 acre farm in Nanoose Bay for their retirement. They put in many hours and long days for the farm to become a Certified Organic Farm in 1997.
Lorne spent his youth on a prairie mixed grain and cattle farm before university and a research oriented career with the Federal and Provincial Forest Services, broken by eight years research with Firestone Plantations Company in West Africa and Brazil.
After a lifetime as a wife, mother, singer, and a teacher, Barbara took early retirement from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture in order to move with her husband Lorne to Nanoose Bay, on Vancouver Island. There they re-established agricultural roots, purchasing and developing Nanoose Edibles Farm, an organic produce farm. The Ebells are active in the protection of the agricultural land in the region and follow cover cropping and crop rotational practices on their fragile land.
The farm is constantly searching out new varieties of vegetables that are well suited to the farm and Vancouver Island’s variable soil and weather conditions. Improvements in selection of vegetable varieties and extending the growing season are continuing goals of the farm.
The farm business has grown over the years, and the farm supports environmental issues, the 100 Mile Diet, school and adult educational tours, workshops, local events, takes part in local farmers markets, and has expanded to produce a GMO Free Market offering products from Vancouver Island.
Nanoose Edibles Farm produce is available year-round at their farm market, through their community supported agriculture box program, and at resorts and restaurants in the region and on the west coast. Nanoose Edibles services business and restaurants in Nanaimo, Parksville, Tofino and Ucluelet.
What is better than locally–grown fresh produce available at local restaurants? Good chefs inspire farm managers and staff to strive for quality production.
The farm employs horticulture graduates and offers them farm management training positions; all this in the hope that they may remain with the farm and take on greater responsibilities in the following years.
Barb and Lorne still work 6 days a week at the farm. Lorne looks after the bees, chickens, maintenance, fixes anything and works on the machinery. Barb makes sure orders and operations are running smoothly, and is the farms walking encyclopedia of knowledge.
Lorne spent his youth on a prairie mixed grain and cattle farm before university and a research oriented career with the Federal and Provincial Forest Services, broken by eight years research with Firestone Plantations Company in West Africa and Brazil.
After a lifetime as a wife, mother, singer, and a teacher, Barbara took early retirement from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture in order to move with her husband Lorne to Nanoose Bay, on Vancouver Island. There they re-established agricultural roots, purchasing and developing Nanoose Edibles Farm, an organic produce farm. The Ebells are active in the protection of the agricultural land in the region and follow cover cropping and crop rotational practices on their fragile land.
The farm is constantly searching out new varieties of vegetables that are well suited to the farm and Vancouver Island’s variable soil and weather conditions. Improvements in selection of vegetable varieties and extending the growing season are continuing goals of the farm.
The farm business has grown over the years, and the farm supports environmental issues, the 100 Mile Diet, school and adult educational tours, workshops, local events, takes part in local farmers markets, and has expanded to produce a GMO Free Market offering products from Vancouver Island.
Nanoose Edibles Farm produce is available year-round at their farm market, through their community supported agriculture box program, and at resorts and restaurants in the region and on the west coast. Nanoose Edibles services business and restaurants in Nanaimo, Parksville, Tofino and Ucluelet.
What is better than locally–grown fresh produce available at local restaurants? Good chefs inspire farm managers and staff to strive for quality production.
The farm employs horticulture graduates and offers them farm management training positions; all this in the hope that they may remain with the farm and take on greater responsibilities in the following years.
Barb and Lorne still work 6 days a week at the farm. Lorne looks after the bees, chickens, maintenance, fixes anything and works on the machinery. Barb makes sure orders and operations are running smoothly, and is the farms walking encyclopedia of knowledge.
Dec 2015 Lorne turned 90 years old! He has a grand two day party, with the first day being at the farm and the second day in Nanaimo. Thank you to everyone who came out :)
