The Farm
Our Story
Duck Creek Farm is a beautiful 13 acre farm on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, with almost two acres of market garden, including three greenhouses, a 65 foot hoop house, 75 fruit trees, and five acres of forested land.
We are a family farm that specializes in growing a wonderful variety of over 30 fruits and vegetables for our CSA box program, Friday market, the Tuesday farmers market, grocery and health food stores, restaurants and caterers.
We were voted the best Tuesday/Saturday market vendor in 2019.
We strive to provide our community with healthy, nutrient-rich, affordable food, produced in a sustainable way. We use organic and permaculture practices and operate a non-chemical farm, favouring no-till methods whenever possible. We also strive to provide a habitat for pollinators and wildlife, minimally disturbing the soil so as to allow the beneficial insects and worms to continue to thrive. On any given day in the field you may see eagles, hummingbirds, owls, turtles, beavers and more! Duck Creek, which runs through our land, is a salmon enhancement project that we help steward, and provides a constant revolving door of creatures for our amusement and amazement.
There are many integral steps to growing vibrant, non-chemical foods: seeding (we grow all our plants from seed!), planting, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, preparing beds (broad-forking, wheel-hoeing, tilthing the top 2 inches, raking), composting, pruning, washing, watering and more. All plants have slightly different needs to promote healthy growth. Our task as regenerative farmers is to cater to each of these needs and differences the best we can to create the optimal environment for their growth. Rather than favour mono-cropping, pesticides or machines to ease our workload, we use dense planting, natural weed-suppressants, cover crops, and good ol’ blood, sweat and tears to grow local food with as little petroleum as possible.
We also offer a delicious selection of homemade products including: smoked chipotle pepper spice, garlic salt, pickled beets, bread and butter pickles, and apple juice, and we grow edible and ornamental flowers.
Our farm hosts weddings, farm-to-table dinners, concerts, yoga classes and retreats. Learn more about our here. We have a tipi available for rent, and aim to create a beautiful oasis for people to connect with nature, food and themselves. More on our overnight accommodations here.
We are proud to serve the Salt Spring Community. Sharing our love for the organic lifestyle and farming experience with others is our passion. We invite you to share in the great things the farming lifestyle bring to us.
We sell our produce directly through our weekly veggie box program (ask about signing up!), a Friday market on the farm, and the Salt Spring Market on Tuesday. We also sell fresh in season produce to local grocery outlets and restaurants.
In the past we have participated in the SOIL (Stewards of Irreplaceable Land) and WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) programs. Over the years, many wonderful young people have spent a season here, deepening their connection to themselves and the land, and giving us all the gifts of their labour and love. Many friends have put their hearts into the soil, and we have been blessed by their generosity. Together we continue to build upon the love and principles that built the farm in 1990.
Est. 1990
We Honour our Legacy and Continue the Vision with Love and Passion
Meet Your Farmers
Duck Creek Farm is composed of a dynamic crew – Sue Earle, her children - Eland and Ella Bronstein - and Chris Blaszk, as well as annual staff and volunteers.
With a diversity of skill sets we strive to thrive in the most resilient and sustainable way. Growing food is one branch of our way of life; yoga, sustainable building and community gatherings are other passions. We strive to honour Earth, ourselves and all our relations.
"We believe regenerative, non-chemical farming is an important step to regaining autonomy and long term ecosystem health. Our shared passions of spiritual, environmental and physical health have informed our steps down this ever evolving path."
Interested in becoming part of the Farm-ily?
We’re always looking for people interested in volunteer positions in exchange for veg, and, depending on time of year we might be hiring.
Our Legacy: Remembering John Wilcox
November 9, 1941 – June 15, 2012
Johnny Canuck
Duck Creek Farm was founded by John Wilcox in 1990 and is gratefully succeeded by his loving partner, Sue Earle, and her two children, Eland and Ella.
John Wilcox, farmbudsman, engaged citizen, was born in Windsor, Ontario, and raised by his grandparents on their six generation family farm at Woodslee, which also had a Duck Creek running through it. He graduated in Agriculture at Ridgetown in 1961 and volunteered in a Ghandian Village Development in rural India. Being the first agricultural volunteer, he became a founding member of Canadian Overseas Volunteers (now CUSO-VSO) Back in Ontario he wrote farm news for the Department of Agriculture. He ‘emigrated’ to BC in 1964 and worked for 4 years in Operations, Canada Land Inventory in Land Use Planning with the BC government in Victoria. He created a map by hand of East Kootenay area by land use.
He moved to Salt Spring Island in 1973 to fulfill a lifelong dream to bring 25 acres of farmland into production, at the time also working on coastal tugs. Finding he could not afford to farm, he returned to India in 1976, via Central Asia. He spent 26 years at sea, on tugboats and Coast Guard, to be able to afford to farm. He bought Duck Creek Farm in 1990, and developed it from an overgrazed property, as well as designing and building the house, which looks like it’s been here almost a century.
He founded and served on many community agriculture groups, including the Salt Spring Farmers’ Institute (1991 -95 Rep), Island Natural Growers (co founded 1995, served until his passing), District ‘A’ Farmers’ Institute Advisory Board (1993 -1996), director of BC Federation of Agriculture (1993 -1996), founding secretary of the FARM Community Council (1996, before email, when his phone bills were $600 month!), founding director of Investment Agriculture Foundation (1996), founding director of B.C. Agriculture Council (1997), Chair of District ‘A’ Farmers’ Institute (2003 -2007) and he was trying to create a National Farmers Union island chapter when he died. For many years, John wrote a monthly column called Barn Side (BS) for Country Life in BC, where he never held back from stating what he thought, and urging readers to look deeper at the politics of food systems.
John is also known as Johnny Canuck, for his anti Free Trade mission in 1988, when he drove a 1941 Chevy, with a maple leaf painted on it, across Canada.
John was married to Judith Stuart in Victoria, and they have a daughter Lisa. Married to Lynda Wilcox, he fathered Samantha and Emma, and was stepfather to Lynda’s son Dan. Sue Earle and John met in 2002, and had ten years on the farm together.
Gallery of Yum
