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Photo by Ronda Payne
Mary Forstbauer
The Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm was founded in 1977 by Mary (above) and her husband Hans. They were pioneers in the early organic farming
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Forstbauer Produce
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Forstbauer greenhouses
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Forstbauer strawberries
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Inside the greenhouse
Inside the greenhouse at the Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm where they use a compost tea, bio-dynamic preparations and some IPM methods are used to strengthen plants, enrich the soil and fight pests.
On an overcast March day in Chilliwack, as the sun makes its journey to the west and the light begins to fade, Mary Forstbauer walks and talks about the organic farm she and husband Hans have worked since 1989. They’ve been at this farming thing since the late 70s living in Abbotsford before settling here: south of Highway 1 and north of Cultus Lake.
Their education, courtesy of trial and error, is now being passed on to third generation Forstbauer farmers.
They’ve brought up 12 children on this farm where there’s a greater love for farming than for spending time indoors. Before video games or television even had a chance, the Forstbauer kids were hooked by farming.
“I raised my children in 1,000 square feet,” Mary says recalling a time when her kids, now ages 23 to 44 were at home. “I don’t care much for a new house. When our children were small we lived out in the fields. The house was for eating and sleeping.”
Mary is the spokesperson for the Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm. She tours school groups and speaks at conferences about organic food and generally rallies behind the benefits of eating well and loving farming. Hans is much more behind the scenes, hiding in a greenhouse, planting zucchini seedlings during Orchard & Vine’s visit.
Their son Travis is similar in his camera aversion. It took good timing and sweet-talk to get a picture of him rolling by on the tractor. He and brother Niklaus work on the farm full-time. Other siblings join the fray when needed. Four are teachers, one is training to be a naturopath, two are in construction and at some point it’s easy to wonder how even Mary can keep it all straight.
It isn’t just the Forstbauer children who have a love for this land. Mary tells many stories of friends who come to visit mostly because being on the Forstbauer farm, even once, causes a desire to plunge hands into soil and start weeding, planting, harvesting. There’s plenty of that to do on the 122 acres – 90 is their own and the rest is rented.
“When the boys started farming with us, we started renting [the additional land],” Mary says. “90 acres was enough for us before then.”
The Forstbauers grow vegetables here. And berries. And raise chickens for eggs. They sell 90 per cent of what they produce at farmers’ markets.
“We grow a mixed garden,” she notes. “It’s the stuff we enjoy growing. When I pull my bunch carrots, I’m not into sorting them to size. It’s just much easier for us.”
This ease is primarily what makes farmers’ markets the ideal sales outlet for the family’s organic produce. Plus, as Mary explains, when more specialized producers came on the scene it became harder to compete. Especially on price.
“My competition is California and overseas,” says Mary.
In addition to the farmers’ market sales, the Forstbauers sell some wholesale to restaurants, but pick up is at the markets. In the summer, they attend four markets on Saturdays, three on Sundays, one on Wednesdays and one on Thursdays. With their trailers and totes, this arrangement is a well-oiled machine.
“I used to deliver… and used to sit in a loading dock for an hour waiting for my turn,” Mary explains.
Growing organic isn’t cheap. The absence of chemicals doesn’t mean the absence of expenses and losses.
“We look at crop failures of at least one crop a year,” Mary says, noting her pickling cuke crops failed two years running.
“I could spray, I could even spray some of the organic sprays, but we don’t.”
Instead compost tea, bio-dynamic preparations and some IPM methods are used to strengthen plants, enrich the soil and fight pests. There are two bee hives on the property for pollination and the greenhouse sides open up as needed for air flow and access. Woven landscape fabric is used and reused to control weeds, heat the soil and minimize the mud during harvest.
The space between the greenhouses is planned as carefully as the greenhouse sizes themselves. The small tractor can fit through the greenhouse doors to assist with the heavy labour and the spaces between allow for a microclimate where crops are planted that require less wind or more heat like the rhubarb just sprouting which will be sold next year.
Crops within and outside of the greenhouses are rotated and aside from the hand-weeding done once crops begin to sprout, flame weeding is used to clear the unwanted greenery.
Even the weather doesn’t tend to ruffle the feathers of this family. Mary notes she heard a news story where blueberry farmers were concerned due to the early spring. The Forstbauers take it all in stride.
“I asked my husband, ‘are you worried about the [blueberry] crop?’ and he said no,” comments Mary.
Don’t take this laidback attitude to mean the Forstbauers don’t care. They do. A great deal. But they also accept what Mother Nature dishes out as part of the challenges of farming. From their wide open fields to the 15 greenhouses, they know Mother Nature will take her due, like she did last year when she severely damaged two of the greenhouses.
With that price comes reward. Strawberries always come early and stay late on this farm.
“We have strawberries right through to the middle or end of October,” Mary says. “We have the first strawberries on the market and the last. We usually start selling around mid to end of May. We’re at least a month ahead of that [the late June expectation for local strawberries].”
This is where one of those friends who visits the farm regularly comes into play. She’s already weeded more than half of a 20 foot by 200 foot greenhouse of strawberries.
“She comes and spends her leisure hours on the farm,” notes Mary.
Sometimes the Forstbauers give her food and sometimes the friend comes with new ideas, like dried beans which the family now grows thanks to the idea. Instead of reading a book to relax, Mary’s friend visits the farm weeding and enjoying the atmosphere that seems to have some sort of alchemy to it.
It isn’t all work and no play, mind you. Mary is quick to tell tales about getting chores done early then loading everyone in the car to spend a couple of hours at Cultus Lake. On one occasion, rain drove the family home from their outing early and part way home the kids shouted, “stop the car!”
A lone neighbouring farmer was trying to get hay bales off his field before the rain soaked them. With the help of the Forstbauers it was done in minutes. Mary points out it was the kids who saw the need to help and ensured it happened.
“We moved here with the intention of farming and that’s what we do,” Mary says. “It’s a great way to raise children.” ■