Barnabas Farmworks
PO box 309 V0N1V0 Gibsons, BC, Canada

Today should have been our first day of summer retreats and if we’re being honest, it’s surreal to have just another weekend when it feels like we ought to be down on the pier whooping it up while you pull in on the Apodaca. We really miss having you all here on the farm and figured some of you might be missing the farm, so we made a little farm tour video last week to give you a visual update. We’ll try and do a few more of these through the summer so you can watch along as things grow! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMrbcpEO12Q

Still smitten with these 13 (!) piglets we got from @blueskymeats last week; they’re a Berkshire x Red Wattle breed cross. Extra excited to be raising pigs this year thanks to this new pig barn that came together through some generous donations and labour.

Our very first lettuce harvest of the season! What an odd time to be living in. It feels like we are simultaneously in two parallel universes here on the farm. On one hand we are living out the same narrative as everyone else, hunkering down, waiting for things to change, praying for peace and good health and a vaccine, figuring out what this radically different summer will look like, straining to spot any sense of the future through some pretty thick fog. But then on an ent...irely different track: spring waits for no man and no pandemic. So the farm has us on this entirely separate roller-coaster of victories and losses that come with the season: first fruits, the arrival of piglets [photos to come], a plague of slugs wiping out whole trays of tomato seedlings, unexpected cold snaps, summer-like days opening up fresh apple blossoms, a new sprinkler system, deer somehow chewing THROUGH our deer fence, and in it all a couple of frantic humans (that's us!) running around trying to get another year's worth of animals and vegetables growing. Nothing is happening and everything is happening all at once. Its exhausting and a gift all at once. Everything is changing and yet so much is the same as it is every spring. The swallows are still doing their acrobatics through the orchard. The rhubarb has come back up abundantly. God still waits for us "at the still point of the turning world" (to steal a phrase from T.S. Eliot), waiting for us to realize that He's been here all along. See more

We here at the farm have been putting our heads together (but not too closely) with the kitchen team to figure out what we can do for our neighbours hunkering down on the island with us. And here’s what we came up with: weekly provision crates from the kitchen and farm! If you are currently on Keats Island you can fill out our order form by Thursday morning and we’ll have a crate of stuff ready for you on Friday. You can find all the details at barnabasfarmworks.com/provisions (or the link in the profile). Message us if you have any questions!

It sure feels like everything has ground down to a halt. All our comings and goings have been put on hold. And yet here is the spring, waiting for no one's permission. We are beyond grateful this week for work that can carry on and for the hope embedded in the act of planting. We're transplanting peas, seeding carrots, and watering tomato seedlings looking forward to the day we can all crowd in around a table together and enjoy the harvest. If any of you are stranded at home..., but have a backyard or garden box on your deck and you've decided this is the season to develop your green thumb - send us a message! We're mostly making it up as we go over here, but we're happy to share what humble knowledge we do have about growing veggies. And for our fellow neighbours stuck on Keats Island with us: we're working on something for you! Keep an eye on this space tonight.

Hey neighbours! It’s almost our favourite time of the week. We will see you down close to the Keats Landing pier tomorrow at 11 for farmstand! If you are coming and have some extra egg cartons kicking around, bring them with you! We are running low and could really use some more.

Hey neighbours! Our farm is overflowing with goodness; can’t wait to share it with you at our first farmstand tomorrow! There will be peas, there will be carrots and lettuce and radishes and garlic scapes. There will be sourdough bread and cinnamon buns. There will be tolerable company and freshly roasted coffee and breakfast sandwiches made to order. We’d love to see you there! HEADS UP: due to the recent damage to the Keats pier you will find us just up the road from the pier tomorrow. See you at 11! (and every week after that).

The new pigs came today and we are all very excited (as we're sure you can tell from this one's expression.)

Look who's back!

Well the two farmers around here decided they were in it for the long haul and got married. The animals have been over this whole cutesy-farmers-in-love schtick for a while, if they’re being honest, and the vegetables wish the farmers would spend a little less time gazing into each other’s eyes and more time weeding. So if you happen to be walking by and see them kissing in the garden, for everyone’s sake, feel free to tell them to get back to work.

Look what we made! Sheepskin rugs! This has been a real labour of love, as we started working on these a year ago now. And the best part is: THEY ARE FOR SALE! You can totally buy one in time for Christmas and then you (or your kids or your pets or your friends) can curl up on it while you open presents and it would be amazing! They are cured with a natural process (ask us about it!) without industrial tanning chemicals, so these won't off-gas any nasty things into your livin...g room. We are selling them for $175 each and all the proceeds go to towards supporting the various things we do up here at Barnabas. We will happily deliver to you if you are in the Lower Mainland; if you live a little further away, send us a message and we will see if we can work something out. In order: Louis (brown wool): 2' 7" by 2'10" Champ (white wool): 2' 1" by 2' 11" Jacques (white wool): 2' 8" by 2' 5" If you are interested in buying one send us a DM or email us ([email protected]). UPDATE: and they're all accounted for! That was fast! @ Keats Island

Hey Keats Island! So the sad news is that tomorrow is the last farmstand of the season. But the good news is that we are bringing these super cute tote bags (designed by @darbyarensart ) with us and if you meet us at Keats Landing at 11am tomorrow we’ll sell ya one for $5 along with a bunch of fresh tomatoes, carrots, and bread to fill it with.

And this, kids, is why we don't play in wheelbarrows. (Just kidding. We totally play in wheelbarrows.)

Hey Keats! We’re stoked for farm stand tomorrow (11am, Keats Landing) cause we’re excited for you to meet our new favourite crop: hakurei turnips! They’re honey sweet, phenomenal roasted, or just eaten raw like an apple (sounds crazy, but trust us on this one). We also got doughnuts and the first tomato batch of the year!

There are some crops that require months of planning, seeding, watering transplanting, pruning, training, and nurturing before we can even think about harvesting them (we're looking at you, tomatoes.) And then there are blackberries, that ask nothing of us all year until their vines sag under the weight of berries so ripe they're nearly jam, at which point they simply ask that we show up with buckets in hand. We are happy to oblige (and not just because the best berries are on the beach.)

Took a break from the weeding this afternoon to cup the newest beans on our coffee rotation - El Salvador Finca Montana (it's a winner!)

June's first steps out of the new duck coop (we think this is how she tells us she would appreciate more steps on the ramp. Noted.)

If you've spent much time talking to us on the farm, you may have realized that most of our favourite things around here started by accident. Farm mornings with the kids are one of those things. When we first started out, our goal was just to grow some fresh produce for our kitchen. As the kids walked past the farm on their way to play in the forest they would (as kids do) get distracted, poke their heads through the fence, and ask some questions. We would answer questions, a...lso get distracted, and pass snap peas through the fence. Eventually, one of our program leaders picked up on this and asked to bring the group through the garden. It all took off from there. And now here we are. Every kid that comes to camp gets to spend a morning on the farm. With farmers like Steph and Morgan they get a full tour of the farm, picking and tasting veggies, feeding animals, and learning an ever-growing list of fun farm facts along the way. We never would have guessed it then, passing peas through the fence all those years back, but probably the most valuable thing we grow here are these experiences. We are so grateful to be tending this little corner of Creation and for the privilege of sharing it with others (and also for Steph and Morgan and this week, Naomi, who have made this place infinitely more fun for all of us.) See more

Here's your morning dose of cute, featuring Thunder the lamb, Becky the chicken, and Abbey the budding farmer. You're welcome.

This right here is the face of someone plotting his escape for the several billionth time in two days.

The carrot hunters.

"Building rock walls is just like big Lego!" (really, really heavy big Lego) - Morgan Paulgaard, budding stone mason, newest farm team recruit, and the guy who singlehandedly hauled rocks from all over the farm to build the most beautiful bee garden you ever did see.