AM FRESH

Posted by amfresh on October 31st, 2009 in AM FRESH POSTS, AM FRESH PUZZLES | Share

Up until just a few years ago farmers of Vancouver Island could count on about 80% of their crops being supplied to local cities and communities. Now less than 5% of Victoria’s food is supplied by local farmers. As explained to me by 62 year old Mr Galey, a local farmer from Galey Farms this afternoon, trucks and ships are passing each other taking produce from the island to other parts of the country, while cargo ships and trucks haul produce to the island from the same areas the Island is shipping to. Seems to me like a lot of wasted energy.  People would rather buy produce locally grown. They want to know where and how their food is grown. We should be suppling local first then shipping to other parts of the country and world. At one time buying produce from other parts of the world was a treat. We paid for it through the nose but it was still a treat.

That is not the biggest problem faced by farmers of the Victoria BC and surrounding area. The Island has had a major problem with Canada’s national bird, the great Canadian Goose.  It was stated that some 10-20 years ago the geese were brought in and domesticated for hunting purposes. Saanich has a by-law of no hunting geese period. Tax payers are paying to have dogs hired to chase the geese from the local lakes and tourist attractions and they are spreading to the nearby farms. It appears the geese have run amuck in the potato and carrot fields.  He states that the geese are generally not a problem until about the 2nd week of August. Within a short time frame, 100’s of acres of potatoes and other vegetables that grow underground are destroyed as geese dig them up exposing them to the elements of nature.

During my visit at Galey Farms in Saanich BC I did see them getting ready for the Christmas season with decorations out of warehouses waiting to be sorted. Come out and support the Christmas tour in November and December this year it will be worth the trip out to see a little Christmas community .

Download Galey Farms Pumpkin Patch today.

AM Fresh will be there to take pictures and follow up with the excitement as the Christmas theme unfolds. I will post this picture of the pumpkin patch as a puzzle later tonight.