We are made up of Greenhouse, Root Crop and Field Crop growers across Vancouver Island

We are a group of Island farmers and small marketing team who are passionate about feeding residents of Vancouver Island with Island-grown food.

Made up of Greenhouse, Root Crop and Field Crop growers across Vancouver Island, we provide grocery retailers with a variety of crops throughout the year, including Cucumbers, Peppers, Potatoes, Corn and Blueberries.

We are constantly expanding our product availability and work with local procurement groups in our goal to provide every Vancouver Island resident the opportunity to consume food grown locally on Vancouver Island.

Rages Farms

Port Alberni

Items marketed through VIFP – Cucumbers

It’s all in the name… and these cucumbers really are all the Rage… (come on, we had to)

Patricia and Ivar Rage first started their Island venture back in the 60’s, clearing 40 acres along the scenic Stamp River. The Rages began with potatoes, and increased from there, producing a number of root and field vegetables, until the decision was eventually made in the 80’s to focus solely on greenhouse production. As the years went on, and more greenhouses were constructed, the ultimate commodity of choice became the Rage cucumber we all know and love today, and ask for by name.

Rage’s Farms has always been a family-run operation, starting with Ivar and Patricia and later joined by any combination of their three sons at one time or another, two of which are currently keeping the legacy of the Rage cucumber going strong today. Rages Long English and Mini cucumbers continue to fill the grocery-store shelves from Port Hardy to Victoria, Powell River to Tofino each year from March thru October.

Hey… What do you call it when you see a cucumber on the side of the highway? Road Rage!! Yes folks, we’re here all day.

Phone: (250) 723-2359

7685 McKenzie Rd

Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8M6

Lazo-Tyee Farm

Comox

Items marketed through VIFP – Potatoes, Corn, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Beets, Carrots, Onions, Cabbage

Three well-known points of interest in the Comox Valley are: Mr. Washington, Goose Spit, and Sieffert’s Farm Market. Lazo-Tyee Farms has been a staple in the Comox Valley since 1959 when Norm & Jean Sieffert started growing vegetables and delivering them to local grocers. Fast forward a “few” years and their son Bob also became a permanent fixture on the farm, currently owning and operating the farm with his wife Char Sieffert and business partner Chris Edwards. (If you’re wondering where Char and Chris came from… Norm & Jean had such great hiring skills that two of their employees just never left!) Each day the trio discuss the game plan then head out in three different directions to get ‘er done. With field, root and greenhouse crops, there is never a shortage of places to be.

The next generation of Siefferts is also actively involved on the farm, with the 4th already getting their wee boots stuck in the mud. One day the juniors will likely take over, but until then, Bob, Char and Chris will continue being proud, responsible farmers, and enjoy seeing the fields change throughout the season as the literal fruits of their labour grow.

Hilltop Greenhouses – Victoria

1840 Burnside Road West, Victoria, BC

Items marketed through VIFP – Cucumbers

Hilltop Greenhouses has been a family-run greenhouse operation for over 50 years. The nursery wholesale business was started by Pauline and Gerry Murray, and today is owned and operated by their son Richard… though sitings of Pauline and Gerry on the farm are definitely still a regular occurrence. Richard of today is not unlike Richard of yesteryear in that he can usually be found either on-site in the greenhouses, or off-road in the mud (to this day he will neither confirm nor deny the allegation of running his brother over with his dirt bike).

One day Richard sat down to ponder the following: We have potted mums / poinsettias in the fall and winter, and bedding plants / vegetable starts in the spring… what oh what to do with those few summer months in between… Do we rest? No! Do we grow produce for Victoria’s grocery retailers? Yes!! The South Island cucumber program was born, and Hilltop’s Long English and Mini Cucumbers have been on Island shelves ever since.

Richard is constantly looking for ways to expand greenhouse programs and supply even more items to Island customers. And really… once the idea is PLANTED, who knows just how far it will GROW! (hyuk hyuk)

Website: https://hilltopgreenhouses.com/

Phone: 250.479.3695

1840 Burnside Road West

Victoria, BC

Fiesta Greenhouses

Campbell River

Items marketed through VIFP – Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, CucumbersSo the couple that works together DOES stay together?? Who knew? After years of working the logging camp scene (him in the woodlots, her in the kitchen), Max and Karen Grober went home and built Fiesta

Greenhouses from the ground up in 1999 and have worked together every day since… and rumour has it they still even like each other. Particularly proud of running a pesticide-free operation, they still enjoy every aspect of the growing process starting with the seeding and ending with the selling. Over the years, they’ve expanded their greenhouse production to include 1 1/2 acres of hothouse space and currently provide fresh peppers to retail markets from the Comox Valley to Campbell River.

During the busy growing season, if you can’t find them pruning and picking in the greenhouse, chances are you’ll find Max somewhere driving around on a tractor and Karen chatting with friends and customers at a farmer’s market or at their roadside stand. And as for the off-season, they may just be somewhere warm and humid for a well-deserved vacation… you know… for “health reasons”. After all, it’s important to stay climatized for the next growing season.

Website: http://fiestagreenhouses.com/

Phone: (250) 923-2671

3152 York Rd

Campbell River, BC V9H 1A8

EcoGreen Farms – Duncan

4715 Bench Rd. Duncan, BC, V9L6L7

Items marketed through VIFP – Lettuce (so far!)

These New Kids on the Block have taken on a new adventure and breathed new life into a Cowichan Valley greenhouse.

Back in the day (we won’t say when), newlyweds and farming enthusiasts Wes and Kim Schartner purchased their first beef farm. Moooo-ving their enthusiasm through different ventures from there, they eventually planted themselves here on the West Coast in 2020, relocating their family of 5 from Grande Prairie AB to officially become Islanders. Fuelled by creativity and a passion to provide their new community with good local food, the husband and wife team brought son Spencer on board and went about reinventing the wheel, or in this case, reinventing Island lettuce production.

The 4000 sqft greenhouse uses vertical FRP towers and a nutrient-rich drip solution to yield tall, lush pyramids of a variety of lettuces. The pride in their business is rooted in running a pesticide and insecticide-free operation, and in supplying quality, healthy, local produce to a welcoming community they are incredibly grateful for.

When asked what the future holds for the budding business, the answer is more… more towers, more products, and more months of the year. Think you will never be able to buy fresh Island-grown lettuces in February? The Schartners say think again.

Website: https://shop.cow-op.ca/Producer/d060c87f-2f24-407c-9614-205a83c38daa

Phone: (250) 709-9553

Dove Creek Produce Farm – Courtenay

3505 Dove Creek Rd, Courtenay, BC V9J 1P3

Items marketed through VIFP – Garlic, Asparagus, Corn, Strawberries, Canteloupe, Watermelon

From Logger to Ginseng Grower… a natural step right? That’s exactly the move Mark Jespesin made 30 years ago when he first started his farming venture in the Okanagan. And after 27 years of working through hot summers and cold winters, he moved west to Vancouver Island in 2018, settling in the small community of Dove Creek to pursue Island growing with a change of scenery.

Today, Mark and his son Bryce manage the Island farm-life (and Island weather) together. They take pride in being honest hard workers, and while still hoping to make it as farming millionaires (small farmers everywhere will get the humour in that statement), they firmly believe in earning an honest living while doing an honest day’s work and of course drinking a good honest beer when it’s all over.

Contributing to local food security and having more options of quality Island-grown food is what this father /son duo is all about. From sunrise til sundown, work clothes are on, hands are in the dirt and sweat is on the brow to help do their part to make it all possible.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/DoveCreekAsparagusFarm/

Phone: (250) 503-6450

3505 Dove Creek Rd

Courtenay, BC V9J 1P3

Cowichan Bay Produce Ltd. – Duncan

Duncan, BC

Items marketed through VIFP – Potatoes, Cabbages, Broccoli

Farming isn’t a battle against nature, but a partnership with it.It is respecting the basics of nature in action and ensuring that they continue.

– Jeff Koehler (…and Doug Quist)

Respect and admiration of the land, combined with a passion for growing, is what gets the Quist family out of bed and into the fields each morning. Owners Doug & Nancy Quist both grew up as farmers-in-the-making, and even though most of their past was spent in other food production, there was always a special place in their hearts for growing produce. So in 2018, the life-long Cowichan residents partnered with their son and daughter-in-law Neil and Erin Quist, and Cowichan Bay Produce Ltd. was born.

Today, three generations pridefully take part in this Island produce operation, with the fourth being prepped as we speak… (it’s totally normal for a child’s first world to be “potato”… right??) The only thing that outweighs this family’s enjoyment of working together is their collective enjoyment of getting their hands dirty in the process! From seeding to storage, the Quist family is proud to be part of food production here on the Island, and look forward to creating healthy eating and healthy lifestyles alike for years to come.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Cowichan-Bay-Produce-Ltd-109692974765199/?ref=page_internal

Phone: (250) 715-5664

Coastal Black Estate Winery – Black Creek

Black Creek

Items marketed through VIFP – Sweet Corn, Frozen Blueberries, Pumpkins

Faith, Family and Fun form the foundation for fabulous fruit-wine and field-crop affairs!

In 1987, Coastal Black owners Terry and Bonnie Ludwig sold their dairy farm in Pitt Meadows, purchased 250 acres of raw land in Black Creek, and went to work. With lots of sweat and tears (from both crying AND laughing), they built a new dairy farm from the ground up. Fast forward 20 yrs and the cows in the paddock had been replaced by berries in the field. 10 yrs later and corn and pumpkins had been added to the truck. And today the proud owners have built a beautiful estate winery, and supply Vancouver Island grocers with sought-after corn, pumpkins and blueberries… all while getting to spend their days working alongside parents, sons, daughters and grandchildren. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

When asked about their typical workday, the response was “get up, make a plan, change the plan, then change it again”. Let’s see…. dairy cows… blackberries, blueberries… winery, fruit wine, mead and cider… corn, pumpkins and squash. Yup, seems about right. No time for standing still when innovation and passion run through your veins. And next on the agenda? Hazelnuts. Because… well… why not?

Website: http://coastalblack.ca

Phone: 250 337 8325

2186 Endall Rd

Black Creek, BC V9J 1G8