About Island Grains and Makaria Farm
Brock and Heather own and operate Makaria Farm, a 10-acre organic farm in the Cowichan Valley. We started Island Grains in the spring of 2009 after reading Gene Logsdon's book, Small-Scale Grain Raising.
Our farm offers a limited CSA Harvest Box program (also referred to as Community Supported Agriculture), through which members receive a weekly supply of seasonal produce over the summer. Our farm specializes in strawberries and vegetables, as well as garlic, apples, eggs, and whatever else inspires us. Current experimental crops include hops and an olive tree.
We are an organic farm, which means that we manage our soil sustainably, using green manures, cover crops, compost, and crop rotation. We do not use pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, sprays or chemical fertilizers. Our compost only includes materials from our farm (e.g. plants we've grown, manure from our chickens). Even our chickens eat only certified-organic feed, vegetables that we've grown, and whatever they find when free ranging on our property.
We took possession of the property on June 1, 2007 and have been busy establishing our farm every minute since.
As new farmers, we learn at least one new thing every day. We're excited to learn more about how to grow enough grain to feed ourselves, and to share that experience with those of you who share that interest.
(Pictured: Brock and Heather of Makaria Farm, in the Cowichan Valley.)