Living Off the Land – Sea Dog Farm: Anchored in Agriculture

by Jo Barnes | photos by Amanda Cribdon Photography

At this Saanichton farm, the farmer works like a dog, a sea dog that is, who is charting a new course, this time on the land.

Tucked away amidst the firs and cedars alongside Centennial Park, Sea Dog Farm is a peaceful pastoral property owned and operated by retired naval officer Shawn Connelly and his wife Katy. Its name pays tribute to both Shawn’s seafaring career and also to the previous dog kennel operation that thrived on the property years ago.

“I’m a retired officer with the Royal Canadian Navy where I served for 33 years,” shares Shawn. “The farm name is a nod to that and also to the former dog kennel and park that was here.”

Tending the land is not new to this couple. Shawn grew up in a rural area of Eastern Ontario and worked often on dairy farms gaining a working knowledge of animal husbandry. A former teacher, Katy has always been an enthusiastic gardener who enjoys details and researching plants, produce, techniques and methods.

Before purchasing their farm, they lived in Oak Bay where they maintained a beautiful garden and raised chickens and bees.

Their new Saanichton farm is an opportunity to fully embrace their love of the land.

“Everything we’ve done has led to this point,” shares Katy.

Upon retirement, the couple purchased the five-acre property in 2017, and have worked tirelessly to clear trees and debris and overgrowth, convert the former kennel into chicken housing, enhance the existing orchard, plant berries, build a greenhouse and construct numerous raised beds for organic flowers and produce.

“The property is on the Agricultural Land Reserve,” comments Katy. “We thought it should be returned to its intended purpose.”

Organic methods, recycling and reusing are commonplace here. No pesticides or herbicides are used. Feedbags are recycled for gardening use. Old trees are chipped and used on trails or as mulch or compost. Chickens roam and alpacas graze; their manure a vital source of fertilizer for the soil. The five alpacas on the property are valuable for pasture maintenance and fire mitigation. They eat weeds, refuse berries, and their manure is a superior soil fertilizer.

There are 61 fruit and nut trees on the farm, but most produce is raised above ground.

“The soil is very much clay. It’s a lot easier to grow produce in raised beds,” says Katy. “We prefer not to till the land.”

The produce menu at Sea Dog Farm is extensive. Offerings include lettuce, kale, spinach, cucumbers, pumpkins, garlic, peppers, tomatoes as well as many fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples and plums. In addition, they sell eggs and alpaca fiber. The flowers grown onsite are bundled into attractive bouquets.

“We have a variety of flowers here. Dahlias are lovely and sell well,” comments Katy.

Over the years, the Sea Dog farm stand has become a well-known community landmark along the Centennial Park trail.

“We have one farm stand at the end of the driveway,” says Shawn. “The other is at the centre of our front lawn which runs along the Centennial Park. We get a lot of walk-by traffic.”

Customers enjoy the ease of buying homegrown fresh produce in their own neighborhood.

Whether it’s a quick stop for produce or to stock up on farm fresh eggs, transactions are straightforward and convenient.

“It’s the honour system at our stand. People pay using the cash box there,” says Shawn, adding with a smile: “And, you never know. Someone once paid using all nickels!”

Shawn and Katy receive positive feedback regularly, sometimes in notes left behind on the stand.

“We get some great notes like one that said ‘I really love your kale!'” remarks Katy.

The arrival of Covid shone a light on food security and the importance of local farms. Shawn and Katy felt the positive impact.

“Our farm stand has never done better!” notes Shawn. “People are really embracing what we’re doing here.”

Community support has been rewarding, sometimes surprising.

“During Covid, we had a contract cancelled and shared this over social media,” says Shawn. “Before we knew it, there was an overwhelming support from everyone including The Roost who reached out to us to give us the opportunity to showcase our flowers.”

If you think that retirement means slowing down, you’d be barking up the wrong tree at Sea Dog Farm. For these farmers, it’s both an opportunity to pull up anchor and put down roots on the land and to share good food with the community.