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WILLOWTREE BREAD
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Our dream

When we arrived in 2012 we had big plans!  With multiple interests and goals we got started even before our eager feet touched the lovely North Saanich land. 
Beginning with bee keeping in the back garden of our old home we had ambitions for  an organic bakery, a flock of chickens, ducks and geese, milk goats, fruit and vegetables.
​Over the years we've done all these things as you can see on this website.  Though these skills are incredibly satisfying to learn about and do they are also taxing and require more energy than we now have !  
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Building the Farm

​Before we moved into our property it was used solely for horses.  Our much anticipated hobby farm called for a more diverse use of the land and so our first job was to change things to suit our purpose.   ​

Raised Vegetable Beds

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Since we planned to grow pesticide free vegetables and fruit we needed growing space.  The old dry-turnout area was chosen as the ideal area for raised beds as it was well drained.  The remainder of the land is clay and consequently can get quite squelchy!  We had to make soil for the beds using manure, dead leaves, old newspapers and compost.  We continue to build and feed the beds using our wonderful compost that has the addition of chicken manure.

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Hot compost steaming briskly
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The first year
We now have a full compliment of raised beds, and other beds where we can squeeze them in, and grow all sorts of produce organically.  We have tried a farm stand and this works well for plants but not so well for vegetables so we sell those at our local farm market - on an extremely small scale indeed!!

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Forced Spring Rhubarb squeezed into a free space!

Looking Back at
​Our first greenhouse! 

Greenhouse in a Weekend!

Using salvaged pallets, left over wood, a couple of free recycled windows (one for the skylight, one for the door) and some thick plastic we had our greenhouse finished in two days!  Of course we added finishing touches with a wide shelf, a raised bed and some gravel on the floor - perfect!  We can keep track of the day/night temperatures using the maximum-minimum thermometer and we'll be ready to get started with seeds when it's warm enough at night. 

Newspaper Pots For Free! 

Newspaper is now printed with plant based dyes and is safe to use for this purpose.  
You can buy the tool shown in the video or make different size pots using food cans and ingenuity!
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​Newspaper pots are wonderful though they do take some effort - great for winter days!  As the spring arrives and life gets a LOT busier we are using mainly plastic pots that get recycled over and over and over and - - -

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We all need a little warmth!

May to September 2013

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  • Home
  • How to buy our bread . . .
  • The Baker's Tale
  • The Bread Making Process
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
  • Map
  • The Glass Aviary