Hazelnuts When people who are trying to “eat local” or use various versions of regional diets ask “What to do about nuts?”, the most popular recommendation was hazelnuts up to a few years ago. Commercial Production Hazelnuts have been farmed in various parts of BC since at least the 1930s[i]. Commercial cultivation in the Pacific […]
Archive | BC agriculture
Butchers of Barkerville
Butchers of Barkerville By guest blogger Ken Mather, author of several books on pioneer and ranching history, including Trail North, Ranch Tales, and the most recent Stagecoach North. Ken has worked in curatorial, management and research positions at Historic O’Keefe Ranch, Hat Creek Ranch, and Barkerville. As I wrote in a previous blog, the […]
Bunch Grass and Beef
Bunch Grass and Beef By guest blogger Ken Mather, author of several books on pioneer and ranching history, including Trail North, Ranch Tales and the most recent Stagecoach North. Ken has worked in curatorial, management and research positions at Hat Creek Ranch, Historic O’Keefe Ranch and Barkerville. In the hot dry interior of British Columbia, […]
Beef for the Colony of British Columbia
Beef for the Colony of British Columbia Governor James Douglas of the Colony of British Columbia had a problem, but it was a good problem. The gold rush to the Lower Fraser River, that had precipitated the creation of the Colony in 1858, had gradually spread up the river through the Fraser Canyon. By 1862, […]
BestOVall Canning Company – Beans and All
BestOVall Canning Company – Beans and All The idea for this blog began with an intriguing label for BestOVall Canning Company, a BC canning company, and ends with a delicious homemade version of Pork and Beans. Food packages and container labels are highly perishable and many don’t survive. Yet each one has a story and […]
Buy Local – Buy BC
Buy Local – “Buy BC”, “Buy Canadian” In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded by our provincial government to support local restaurants, farmers, and food producers, arguing that Buy BC is important for the economic and social well being of individuals and the country.[i] Additionally, the federal government, worried about consumers becoming […]
Chilliwack Corn
Chilliwack Corn Chilliwack corn is ready and this is a fact not to be ignored. It hit the market about a month ago and Chilliwack is now well into “corn season” with street-side corn stands everywhere! The season started late this year due to the weather but is now fully underway. Chilliwack is not a […]
Book Review – Street Farm
Book Review – Street Farm: Growing Food, Jobs and Hope on the Urban Frontier by Michael Ableman (2016). Chelsea Green Publishing. I found this book on BC Ferries before the COVID 19 pandemic and I just finally got around to reading it. It was the perfect feel-good read for lockdown times. Street Farm is a heartwarming tale […]
What’s Making Food History – April 29, 2020
By Mary Leah de Zwart on April 29, 2020 in BC agriculture, Ethical food choices, What’s Making Food History
Supply management and the food supply chain cannot be taken lightly: history happens as we sit in self-isolation. The Conversation.com Why-farmers-are-dumping-milk-down-the-drain-and-letting-produce-rot-in-fields
Garlic Harvest Update
Garlic Harvest Update A 2016 garlic blog post on the BCFH blog came to my mind today when I heard about Northlands Urban Farm‘s garlic harvest night on Wed. August 14, one of a series of urban farm events this summer. (Don’t be jealous, rest of Canada. It’s a calming oasis of greenery right in […]