Lynn Wallace was a good friend of ours and farmed full-time here, before we came, raising her family in a small cedar board and batten cabin that still offers the best view over the fields and forest.

In November 1987 she described farm life like this…

“I farm 40 acres in Cedar, BC raising chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle in varying numbers as well as growing a large organic garden.

My customers are people who are concerned about the antibiotics and chemical residues from pesticides and herbicides that might be present in commercial meat, eggs, vegetables and fruit. I also have an outlet for organic vegetables through the Blue Skies Health Food Store in Nanaimo.

I do not use chemicals of any kind in the garden. I mix my own feed using whole crushed or ground grains and adding Brewer’s yeast, kelp powder and molasses. Pigs and chickens are fed their grain soaked in goat’s milk.

The animals are bedded with hay in the winter, which is warm and wood shavings in the summer, which are cool. I have a manure pile for each type and the hay manure is dug into the garden each spring. The shavings manure is used as a mulch after the plants are up and well established. This works very well to conserve moisture, eliminate weeds and feed the garden when it rains or when I water….”

We remain in awe of Lynn’s down-home skills and energy, continue to remember her fondly, and always try to consider how she would like the farm to grow.