We love to celebrate organic farmers because they provide us with access to nutritious, tasty, and safe foods that fuel our health. At Pranin, connecting you to the farmers is important to us. We encourage you to get to know where your food is coming from and to build relationships with the amazing people who grow your organics. Every month we’ll showcase a different BC organic farm so you can get to know them a little better.
This month we had the pleasure of learning a little bit more about a family-owned and operated farm located between Surrey and Langley. The Two EE’s Farm has grown over the past 40 + years from a small 5-acre farm and fruit stand to a 25-acre certified organic farm and local market. Their vegetables, from acorn squash to Russian red kale, are 100% pesticide and chemical free. The Two EE’s Farm was started by Henk Shoen and is now run by his son Mike. We spoke with Mike Schoen to ask him about his philosophy and practice of organic farming.
Q: What inspired you to start/ run an organic farm and what is your philosophy about farming?
A: I grew up on an organic farm. My father got into organic farming on his 5 acre parcel 40 years ago. He didn't like the way he had been taught to grow, using chemicals developed during the war. So he began growing using various composts and natural sprays, the way most people will do in their back yard gardens. I worked on his farm and in the market. I saw and learned how things grow organically. I also saw and talked with many conventional farmers. I went to school for greenhouse management and saw a wide cross section of the horticultural industry. I saw how they grew monoculture and pushed their plants for maximum yield, creating a need to find ways to rid their plants of the many diseases and insects that come with their practices. They then kill all the good with the bad: this inspired me to continue in organics. We grow our produce the old fashioned way. We feed the soil with composts and keep it uncompact to feed the microbes in the soil. These microbes in turn feed our plants by breaking down organic matter into usable food for the plants. We don’t practice monoculture; we grow a wide variety of vegetables. This creates a better environment for beneficial insects to flourish. We encourage the good to get rid of the bad.
Q: What makes you unique in the organic farming industry?
A: We are unique in the industry for the wide variety of vegetables that we grow and for how early in the season we are in production.
Q: What is your favorite part of what you do and why?
A: Working outdoors in the fresh air and getting to see the fruits of your labour.
For more information about the Two EE’s Farm you visit their website at www.wegroworganic.ca, and better still, you can visit the market at 16411 Fraser Highway, Surrey BC.
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