by Jo Barnes | photos by Amanda Cribdon Photography –
Sometimes you know what you want in life from a very young age. For Phil Christensen, his heart didn’t long for amusement parks or travel to distant lands, but for life on the farm.
“When I was a little kid, if I was given a choice of going to grandpa’s farm or going to Disneyland, I’d choose the farm,” shares Phil. “I like the countryside, growing things; farming has always appealed to me.”
Situated along Oldfield Road, Phil’s Farm boasts firs and cedars at one edge, an onsite pond, quiet creek, and many fields. Here blueberries and raspberries are the featured crop and have been for over 35 years. Phil is no stranger to the farming lifestyle.
“I had lots of relatives with farms,” says Phil. “This is my 28th year here working the farm full-time. I was working part-time for nine years before that.”
Over the years, Phil has tried his hand at a variety of farm activities including raising cattle, pigs and chickens. Eventually, he chose to focus on cultivating berries. Quality is something he strives towards daily. Customers notice and often use words like “best”, “excellent”, and “sweetest”.
“I try very hard to grow the very best produce I can,” comments Phil. “Berries are fresh picked and prime.”
Phil also values his place as a farmer within the local farming network. In fact, he’s an active member of the Southern Vancouver Island Direct Farm Marketing Association, a non-profit group of growers and producers on Southern Vancouver Island who sell their farm and vineyard products directly to consumers.
“Currently I’m treasurer of this farming collective,” says Phil. “Our farms are listed on the Island Farm Fresh website. Our mantra is Buy Local.”
He also enjoys the network of mutual support that exists in the farming community, especially with neighboring farmers.
“I’m fortunate to have fabulous neighbours,” notes Phil. “There’s cross support here. Say, if my tractor gets stuck, I can call a neighbour and he’ll bring his tractor and help me out.”
Phil’s Farm is 12.5 acres, eight of which are devoted to blueberry bushes and raspberry canes, with the rest consisting of forest, homestead and outbuildings. Now, you might think just two crops is somewhat limited, but a closer look reveals that Phil has great variety within these crops. He grows five kinds of each berry. This variety offers different flavours and sizes to customers. Blueberries, for example, include the classic bluecrop or the chandler, known for its very large size.
Like growing any crop, it takes hard work and good methods to produce a successful harvest. Phil feels that fertilizing is key.
“I use chicken manure for the high nitrogen content,” he says. “For plant growth, chicken manure is the jet fuel.”
Attention to details like weed control, watering and other elements is critical.
“Sawdust works well for keeping weeds down and also to wick moisture along,” shares Phil. “It also reflects light onto berries. This helps them ripen more evenly.”
The daily approach is an organic one. Over the years, he has learned effective measures for pest control.
“With blueberries, you have to contend with aphids,” says Phil. “We have a two-prong approach. We use Safer’s Soap, and secondly, predator bugs like ladybugs and aphidoletes.”
Seasonal preparation, daily maintenance, and harvest; there’s definitely work to be done. One employee, however, is not only experienced, skilled, and a hard worker, but is someone who has become a respected, valued member of the farm team. Ignacio Bernal Villela hails from Mexico, and each year travels to the Peninsula where he works on Phil’s Farm.
“Ignacio has been with me for 12 years now,” notes Phil. “He fits in really well. I like him. I don’t speak Spanish and he doesn’t speak English, but the language of farming we both understand.”
Like many farmers here on the Peninsula, the arrival of the pandemic brought challenges. For Phil, it meant the delay in Ignacio’s arrival to begin work on the farm.
“He usually comes by mid-June, but he had to quarantine,” says Phil. “Covid delayed his start for a month.”
An additional challenge that resulted from Covid was the impact on his U-Pick service, an opportunity for members of the public to pick their own berries. Social distancing regulations complicated things.
“I wasn’t sure we could do U-Pick. I had people make reservations, and I had to limit the numbers,” says Phil.
All the efforts, though, paid off.
“Last year, we were apprehensive going in,” Phil adds. “But Victorians really stepped up and supported us.”
He works hard to provide something delicious to the community, he works with others to tend the land, and he works to build good relationships with the farming community. This is all part of being a farmer. And for Phil, when he’s on his farm, he’s home.
