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Another plot of land here could go into community farm next year. “It’s my first venture into mixed farming on this scale,” McCoubrey admits, adding, “It’s hard to keep track of what’s ready with 20 different commodities.” This year, they’re growing carrots, sunchokes, spinach, kale, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, beets, three squashes and potatoes and they’re learning as they go about spacing and the pros and cons of different varieties. They’ve used two miles of drip tape to provide water this year, but that may change in future to a more-durable form of drop irrigation to conserve water.


More than 100,000 seeds went into the ground for this growing season, and it’s expected more than 5,000 pounds of produce will be trucked to local food banks.


“It’s mainly green leafy vegetables; good nutritious stuff that they’re short of,” explains McCoubrey.


Local residents like McCoubrey are volunteering on the community farm in Lake Country now, and plans are to expand to create another community farm in the Kelowna area next year. McCoubrey got into farming the traditional way. He was raised on a 10- acre orchard owned by his parents. When the farm next door went up for sale, he bought it at the age of 23, and went into farming himself, growing not only tree fruits, but occasionally growing vegetables between the rows. It wasn’t a large operation, so he often worked off-farm as well, but it was a successful farm, he says.


“I love growing things. And I enjoy contributing to my community so this is satisfying as well,” he explains. “It’s more fun when it’s not important to make money from it. It takes the pressure off,” he adds with a grin. On top of everything else, he admits he loves to be outdoors, getting exercise and fresh air.


And that’s one of the attractions of farming.


If you’d like to volunteer to work on a community farm in Kelowna or Lake Country this year or next year, contact McCoubrey, and anyone interested in mentoring a new farmer; or with land which might be suitable for use as an incubator farm, can also contact him by e-mail at: grow.feed.teach@gmail.com or by phoning him at: 250-766-4406.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2015 7


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