14 DAFFODILS


be shipped regardless of the date. “We used to have contracts that specified a delivery date, such as Easter,” he recalls. “But with the changing weather, we had to re-negotiate those contracts or we could never stay alive.” Vantreight says that the early maturity can be a liability, too. “When our flowers came early last year, the polar vortex that smacked us in February caused a huge amount of damage,” he says. The farm has 158 acres of


certified organic vegetables and fruit, making it the largest organic grower on the island. “The


shoulder seasons,


Ryan Vantreight had 250,000 daffodil buds in cold storage ready to ship across Canada in early February, nearly a month ahead of when Longview Farms traditionally would pick. TOM WALKER PHOTO


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2020 nfrom page 13


view of warmer summers. It’s also experimenting with growing winter lettuce in the greenhouses. One crop is almost reading to harvest. “Chris Clarricoates, our new head grower, has been nurturing this initiative,” says Vantreight. “The lettuce hasn’t needed a lot of extra heat and we are experimenting with supplemental lighting.” Seven weeks of constant rain this winter have made for a lot of dreary days, he notes. Vantreight sees a positive side to the potential for a longer growing season on the island.


“We have the potential to become a real breadbasket


spring and fall, are where the unpredictably affects all our field crops,” says Vantreight. “We are planning to push the season length with new varieties that are hardier and we are planting earlier.” At the beginning of


for the Pacific Northwest.” RYAN VANTREIGHT


February, trays were lined up in the warehouse, waiting to be seeded with onions. The farm is able to use the


greenhouses that they transitioned out of flowers when the market turned in 2004-05 to start its vegetables. “We can always hold our seed sets in the greenhouses if the spring is late,” notes Vantreight. Longview plants lots of


peppers, and is increasingly shifting to hot peppers in


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“The Longview name of the farm is in reference to the wide aspect that we have from our benchland on the Saanich peninsula,” explains Vantreight. But it also reflects the long-term vision that he shares with the farm’s owners. “As the growing season changes on the island, I believe we will see more land become suitable for vegetables and fruit, and at the same time other growing areas may become too warm or suffer from a lack of water,” says Vantreight. “We have the potential to become a real breadbasket for the Pacific Northwest.”


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