Words Jo Barnes
Photos Sarah Hartley Photography
They met. It was a case of hearts and harvest. And they said to one another “Lett-uce start a farm!”
Michael Tennant and Christine Brennenstuhl, owners of Moonlight Farms, radiate enthusiasm not only towards each other but also about growing food, working the land, and bringing harvest to the community.
“I was working at Mason Street Farm when one day Michael came by and half eagerly, half jokingly asked: ‘Who wants to start a farm?’, ” shares Christine. “I’d been wanting this for years and arranged a meetup at his farm. Very quickly, we realized we not only wanted to farm together but to also fall in love and be life partners.”
Their thriving two-and-a-half-acre farm on West Saanich Road offers a diversity of fresh quality vegetables, which are marketed through a farm box program running from May to October, at local markets and to a variety of local restaurants. “We are a small-scale organic farm,” says Michael. “We have 40 different crops including many kinds of salad greens, beets, carrots, spinach, turnips, different legumes, eggplant, tomatoes, melon, cucumbers, as well as four to five varieties of peppers.”
Adds Christine: “We planted 2,000 strawberry plants this season and also have blackberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, ground cherry, apples and grapes.”
The farming duo has always had a keen interest in farming. “I grew up outside of Guelph in a rural area of Ontario and I always had my own veggie garden,” says Christine. “I went to Guelph University for my Bachelor of Social Sciences. After I graduated, I knew I wanted to be a farmer. I came here in 2012 because the longest growing season is in B.C”.
While Michael didn’t grow up on a farm, he talks about other influences that inspired him to pursue farming. “My father was an avid gardener. My uncle and aunt had a number of wineries in the Okanagan. I would visit them in the summer and help out.”
A love of farming and a desire to be part of growing food for the local community are key motivators for these two farmers. “It’s really important to support local organic farms. It benefits the local economy,” comments Michael. Christine adds: “It’s important to know who is growing your food. We have strong farming community connections and we know our customers well.”
Each farmer brings a different set of work experiences to the table. Michael was the general manager at 10 Acres Farm in North Saanich, and Christine did a soil apprenticeship program and worked with Victoria farm cooperatives, most recently, running the Mason Street City Farm. They share the common experience of farming outside of Canada.
“After I graduated from Concordia University where I received my Bachelor of Commerce degree, I travelled around the world. I worked on tropical fruit farms in Australia and also in southeast Asia and have farmed in Guatemala and Honduras,” relates Michael.
“I volunteered with WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) for eight to nine years,” shares Christine. “I would do farming at tropical farms in the winter and then do summer farming in Central America.”
The farming approach here is based on principles of sustainability including crop rotation, organic composting, biodiversity and low-impact techniques. “We farm in the style of organic farmer Jean Martin Fortier using sustainable practices,” says Michael. “We use low-till techniques. For instance, we have a BCS walk-behind tractor which minimizes soil compaction.”
Plants are propagated in the three onsite greenhouses. Eventually they are transplanted by hand to permanently raised garden beds. The work of seeding, maintaining, harvesting and distributing the produce to 70 customers who are on the farm box program all takes time, skill and energy. Michael and Christine are grateful for their field hands Stacy, Ellie and Emmalou who assist with the workload. “We have three part-time workers,” says Michael. “One is our market manager and two are field farm hands. They’re all skilled and do great work.”
In their journey to build a successful farming operation, the couple has come to learn and value each other’s personal skills and approaches. “Michael came to this with so much enthusiasm. Working with machinery and business skills – these are things that I struggle with but Michael has in spades,” relates Christine.
“Christine has so many skills that I don’t have,” adds Michael. “She’s really great at growing salad greens. I trust her. If I am building or repairing something, I know she’ll make sure that everything at the farm runs smoothly. She’s the best!”
For these two farming entrepreneurs, the journey of starting a farm is an opportunity to use their unique abilities to grow food for the community. It’s hard work and takes dedication, but for them, it’s also a romaine-tic experience that remains un-beet-able!
www.moonlightfarms.ca
