Pansies and violas are a great additions to your fall or spring gardens – they’re one flower that thrives in cool, wet weather. There’s no better treat in the garden than seeing their bright, cheerful faces boldly confronting our unpredictable … Continue reading
Apples, blueberries and pears are fruit. Broccoli, carrots and cauliflower are vegetables. That seems pretty simple, right? But in the world of fruit versus vegetables it’s not always that straight forward. For botanists the distinction between fruit and vegetables is … Continue reading
Valentine’s Day is coming quickly; this year the day falls on the Tuesday right after our Family Day holiday. What could be better than a long week-end followed by romance? To help you remember to celebrate this special day and … Continue reading
You may have forgotten, but before 2013 the biggest use of kale was not for its incredible nutritional value, but for its decorative value in salad bars and main dishes. Yes, most kale was routinely thrown out at the end … Continue reading
BC Farm Fresh would like to invite you all to the Pacific Ag Show this week. It’s taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Tradex in Abbotsford. The hours are 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM each day. It’s a … Continue reading
The past many weeks of cold weather and snow may have kept us indoors more than normal. For those of us that miss the outdoors and our gardens, we can fill our homes with flowering plants and tropical foliage plants. … Continue reading
Leeks are cousins to onions, but rather than forming a tight bulb like the onion, leeks produce a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths. The part of that is underground remains tender and white, while the part exposed to the … Continue reading
Warning: this blog provides a very slanted view on life! It’s almost the end of the year and the start of a whole new year. A great way to mark the New Year is to make resolutions for personal improvement. … Continue reading
As many of you celebrate Christmas with your families, we thought we’d provide some turkey tidbits perk your interest and to amaze your family. You can entertain you friends and family with some tall turkey tales! The prehistoric turkey Researchers … Continue reading
We came across this great article and had to share it with BC Farm Fresh! Have you ever wondered how Santa’s reindeer can make that monumental journey on Christmas Eve? Let’s look into some key facts about reindeer that may … Continue reading
When it comes to Christmas trees; what type of family are you? Does your family believe that it’s never too early to put a tree up? Or do you prefer to wait until two weeks before or one week before … Continue reading
Poinsettias are another great Christmas tradition. These brightly coloured flowers are sure to brighten up any home through all our dark our December days. Our local poinsettia growers buy cuttings in mid-summer and carefully grow them until November/December. These poor … Continue reading
Nothing says Christmas like a live Christmas tree. Their wonderful fragrance can fill the whole house. We’re lucky in the Fraser Valley to be able to choose between many different types of trees with different colours, fragrances, and needle shape. … Continue reading
With Christmas just around the corner, at BC Farm Fresh we got to wondering why we’ve never seen fresh turkey eggs offered for sale at our local farms or in the local grocery stores. Statistics Canada estimates that the average … Continue reading
Every wondered about beeswax. The Honey Bee Centre has a great article on beeswax and candles. Just in time for your Christmas shopping. What is Beeswax? Honeybees are the only creatures that make their own home construction materials. When … Continue reading
Have you ventured into the world of spaghetti squash yet? This is an amazing vegetable that when cooked, produces thin, translucent spaghetti-like strands that can easily be scraped out with a fork. After all our experience with carving pumpkins, it’s … Continue reading
After a serious look at onions last week, now it’s time to learn some funny details about them, some tips on using onions, and the answer as to why onions make you cry. Fun Facts Our … Continue reading
Ever wondered why some recipes call for a particular kind of onion and whether another can be substituted in its place? We certainly have at BC Farm Fresh. After some taste tasting, cooking, and research, we found that all onions … Continue reading
Ever wondered about the history and origins of carving pumpkins into what we call Jack-o-laterns? Well, at BC Farm Freesh we did some internet investitating. The practice of making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween goes back for centuries. Stories say the practice … Continue reading
Fall is a time for colours, fog, jack-o’-lanterns, and pumpkin pie. Pumpkins are one of the classic symbols of the season, and spooky jack-o’-lanterns have become a staple of Halloween celebrations everywhere. But long before pumpkin spice lattes became the … Continue reading
Thanks to J D Farms Specialty Turkey Store for sharing their information on turkey. Ordering When ordering, plan on 1 lb of turkey for each adult and 1/2 lb of turkey for each child. This will provide enough meat to … Continue reading
One of our favourite fall images is a small child standing beside a giant pumpkin. Seeing the wonder in their eyes, and the excitement in their step, is one of the greatest joys a farmer can witness. And while … Continue reading
It’s now almost October and we’re enjoying the fruits of fall. We’re in our last week of the sizzling summer give away. This month we feature a great collection of prizes to get you ready for … Continue reading
While some people may be sad to see the tail end of the summer flowers; many of us are looking forward to fall garden mums. Hundreds of hardy cultivars provide a vast array of colors and bloom shapes. The blooms … Continue reading
We continue to take a close look at apples; September is the start of the main apple harvest at BC Farm Fresh; to answer all your unasked questions, we have a three part series on apples for your entertainment. This … Continue reading
September is the start of the main apple harvest at BC Farm Fresh; to answer all your unasked questions, we have a three part series on apples for your entertainment. This is part two. Number trivia fun facts If … Continue reading
It’s now September and summer did come for a few weeks, but the weather really took a wrong turn the past week! We’re going to try with some more give-aways to heat up your summer and get you ready for … Continue reading
A flower that’s been enjoying our recent sunny weather is the dahlia. A true garden dazzler with their many colours and many shapes. We thought this was a good week to take a closer look at this amazing flower. Colours … Continue reading
We’re just starting off with another great apple harvest at BC Farm Fresh. Apples are fabulous to eat right off the tree and are great in all sorts of baking and cooking recipes. Apple pies, apple sauce, apple cider – … Continue reading
Did you know that there are more than 1,000 varieties of apples grown in North America and dozens grown in Southern British Columbia? To help prepare you for apple season, here’s an overview of the apples we grow at Taves … Continue reading
At BC Farm Fresh we’ve been getting a few questions about corn; people looking for old favorite varieties and familiar names. We came across this great blog from Lepp Farm Market that’s a veritable corn-cyclopedia. Now you know the truth … Continue reading
The Sizzling Summer Give Away continues! It’s now August and we’re getting really worried about summer ever arriving at BC Farm Fresh. We’re going to try with some more give-aways to heat up your summer and get you out of … Continue reading
Sausages are tasty, but unless they’re cooked properly, the results can be less than awesome. Cooking a sausage is no different than cooking a steak, if you rush, you’ll be disappointed, but if you take the care and the time, … Continue reading
Some fun facts to consider as you enjoy this deep, dark beauty. 1. Eggplants aren’t REALLY vegetables, they’re berries. Which isn’t that strange, considering other fruits are commonly mistaken for vegetables – like tomatoes. 2. Eggplants and tomatoes are actually … Continue reading
There’s a lot in the news about beef production, particularly how it’s negative for the environment. It’s true that some producers have lost their way, but this doesn’t mean that all cattle producers are poor stewards of the land. At … Continue reading
We’re starting to give up on summer ever arriving at BC Farm Fresh, so we decided to heat things up with some give-aways over the next few months. This week we feature three farms in the Abbotsford area. We’ve got … Continue reading
At BC Farm Fresh this vegetable is often the subject of many jokes; we’re fascinated by its strange looks. In apology to the jokes we’ve made at the expense of kohlrabis; today’s blog will feature this great vegetable. And we’ll … Continue reading
Here are five reasons to consider. Local food: 1. Tastes and looks better. Crops are picked at their peak and farmstead products, such as artisan cheeses are hand-crafted and made in small batches for optimal flavour. With livestock processed in … Continue reading
This is the time of year when hydrangeas really shine in the garden; in fact they’ve been looking amazing for several weeks. They are not one of the quiet, unassuming flowers in the garden. Their huge pom-poms of flowers say … Continue reading
Just in time for the long week-end; Lepp Farm Market would like to share with all our BC Farm Fresh supporters how they make hot dogs. Lepp Farm Market is a family-run, year-round farm market that specializes in locally grown, … Continue reading
Time to celebrate raspberries. BC Farm Fresh hopes that you’ve been enjoying this year’s great raspberries. Sweet, tasty, and good for you! Here are some raspberry fun facts to keep in mind as your enjoy these great berries. Botanical fun … Continue reading
Picture courtesy of Gojoy Berries Inc. The goji berry is native to the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet and Mongolia, but it is now grown in many other countries as well. Gojis have been used for thousands of years in Tibet … Continue reading
This article is generously provided by Lepp Farm Market. Originally posted May 27, 2016 Did you know that there are two types of strawberries? If you’re as old as I am, then you probably remember when we only had BC … Continue reading
Looking for Christmas gifts? The article below features several of our Farm Fresh member farms: Taves Family Farms Applebarn Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm and Meadery Anita’s Organic Grain and Flour Mill Hopcott Premium Meats Golden Ears Cheesecrafters Canadian Hazelnuts Inc. … Continue reading
Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win some of our amazing Fraser Valley gifts! Check back weekly! This week we will award a $25 gift basket from The Local Harvest Farm … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up on FACEBOOK – win by liking, following us on Twitter and retweeting! Get social with us! Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win amazing Fraser Valley … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up on FACEBOOK – win by liking, following us on twitter, and retweeting! Get social with us! Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win amazing Fraser Valley … Continue reading
It’s not every day that you get to sit down for dinner with the farmer who supplied the ingredients you are about to enjoy. Last week growers and producers who are members of the Abbotsford Circle Farm Tour were invited … Continue reading
Last week, a group of Vancouver media and writers were invited to dine with the very farmers and wine makers that grew food and produced wine for a sumptuous, six-course long table dinner at Abbotsford’s Tanglebank Gardens and Brambles Bistro. … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up on FACEBOOK – win by liking, following us on twitter and retweeting! Get social with us! Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win amazing Fraser Valley … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up on FACEBOOK – win by liking, following us on twitter and retweeting! Get social with us! Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win amazing Fraser Valley … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up on FACEBOOK – win by liking, following us on twitter and retweeting! Get social with us! Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win amazing Fraser Valley … Continue reading
This week’s giveaway is up https://www.facebook.com/BCFarmFresh?sk=app_228910107186452 Each week, one of our Fraser Valley Farms will offer our followers the chance to win some of our amazing Fraser Valley produce! This week we were awarded some beautiful blueberries … Continue reading
When you buy local foods, make sure you are also buying food quality and food safety. At Hopcott Farms, every generation since 1932 has taken pride in the farm and its products. Hopcott Premium Meats is a family-owned and run … Continue reading
We like perfection; straight carrots and symmetrical shiny apples. However, our search for perfection has increased the use of pesticides and the amount of waste in our food system. Cosmetically challenged produce is culled and discarded. Thankfully the produce available … Continue reading
At Hopcott Premium Meats, we are committed to bringing our customers nothing less than what we are willing to serve our own families. Our store is located right on the farm, a farm that has been in the family since … Continue reading
Canning and preserving, activities once popular with your grandmother are now becoming popular again. For this resurgence, we can thank the growing demand for fresh local foods, the interest in eliminating and reducing our carbon foot print and, mostly, … Continue reading
The Fraser Valley Farm Fresh Guide is the go-to source for anyone interested in fresh, locally-produced foods. A diverse list of farms, markets, gardens and even wineries can all be found within its pages. Likewise, the Province’s new Agrifoods Strategy … Continue reading
We are happy to annouce that the new 2012 – 2013 Farm Fresh Guide is out on the streets. Don’t forget to get your copy today! We have also updated all the listings and products with www.bcfarmfresh.com for your browsing … Continue reading
Some who live on the land here have been eating purple sprouting broccoli and digging overwintered carrots and potatoes fresh from the garden since January this year! There aren’t many places in Canada where the combination of rich soils and … Continue reading
The “good old days” when most people grew much of their own food, even canning and drying a lot of it for the winter months, are gone. The times when local independent grocers bought fresh local produce from local producers … Continue reading
But They May be Around Longer Than You Think! Nothing announces the arrival of summer quite like the taste and aroma of juicy sweet strawberries. We expect local strawberries will be available by mid-June in 2011 and the quality of … Continue reading
When you buy local food products you support local farmers. But you can have a lot of fun doing it too! One place to enjoy is Meadows Maze in Pitt Meadows. Meadows Maze is celebrating 12 years of entertaining families. … Continue reading