Salt of the Earth: Bullock Lake Farm with Molly Wilson
Salt of the Earth is an ongoing series of Q&A interviews with local farmers, growers and food producers.
Images by Brette Little
Bullock Lake Farm is owned by Zack Hemstreet and Molly Wilson. They are a CSA-focused farm, with over 100 families in their program this season. Their 24 acres are fairly evenly divided between produce and flowers, and for good reason - not only are they growing delicious food for those 100 families and beyond, but their stunning weekly bouquets are a hot commodity on the island!
“We love what we do, and it makes all of the long days worth it.”
Q&A with Molly Wilson
Why did you choose to start farming on Salt Spring?
The first time Zack and I came to Salt Spring together was by bike, from the farm where we were apprenticing in Washington. We took the ferry to Fulford and biked our way to Bright Farm, which was then run by our friend Bree and her parents (Bree and I went to school together in Santa Cruz).We fell in love with the island, and spent the next two seasons working on Bree’s farm before finding Bullock Lake Farm.
What’s the best thing about being a farmer?
This is a hard question; there so many good things! Eating well, being surrounded by fresh produce and flowers, having a new and amazing team every year, our community of farm friends and customers... But if I had to choose one best thing, it would be having a sense of purpose in our work and in our life. We love what we do, and it makes all of the long days worth it.
How has your farming journey evolved? What’s the biggest change?
When we first started our own farm, we took on everything - produce, flowers, pigs, sheep, hundreds of chickens, bees, and even two Jersey cows that we drove to the farm in the hatch of our Honda Civic. We were crazy and energetic and we worked ALL the time. We did both Salt Spring markets in addition to our CSA, and we would drag a freezer to every market with chickens and pork along with all of our produce and flowers. We used to joke about changing our farm name to “Pork and Petals.” Over time we have streamlined to focus on what we love most: our CSA and flowers. We do still have sheep, occasional pigs, and a few chickens, but we’re clear about what’s our business and what are our “side projects.” Something we do differently now: for our first few years, we cut the most beautiful salad mix, with lots of different ingredients, one leaf at a time. It was a lovely product, but it took a HUGE amount of time. Now we cut whole lettuce heads. It’s a much simpler mix, but we save countless hours cutting and washing greens!
We grow staples that we know our members love, while including some of the more specialty things that are fun to get in a CSA box.
How many different kinds of produce do we grow?
One thing that we have never streamlined is how many different crops and varieties we grow. Because we’re a CSA-focused farm, we grow a full spectrum of crops, including things that aren’t very profitable to grow, like potatoes. We grow staples that we know our members love, while including some of the more specialty things that are fun to get in a CSA box. We also grow a huge variety of flowers that we use in our mixed bouquets and arrangements and for wedding flower work. Every time we try to simplify and take something out, we end up adding three more varieties to replace it. We love the tiny details that make arrangements whimsical and unique.
What growing practices do you use?
Though we’re not certified, we are 100% organic. We amend our soil with organic compost and mineral amendments and get as many cover crop cycles in as we can. We manage for pests and disease with crop rotations, crop diversity, and lots and lots of row cover. We’re really passionate about having a diverse system that improves our land over time.
What’s the most popular item you sell?
I would say it’s a tie between strawberries and mixed bouquets. We plant more strawberries every year and it’s never enough! We also sell out of mixed bouquets most weeks - though we’ve expanded our flower offerings over time, our mixed bouquets are still our signature flower product and our main outlet for flowers.
What’s your favourite thing to cook and eat?
The first thing that jumped to mind is also one of the simplest - crushed Juanne Flamme tomatoes over grilled Francis Bread, topped with a few anchovies. Juanne Flammes are our very favourite tomato - they’re a small orange heirloom variety with amazing flavour.
How do you continue to learn and grow?
We have learned the most from our mistakes and successes over the years. We are always trying new things and seeing what works well and what needs to be improved. Salt Spring also has an amazing community of farmers and we learn a lot from each other.
Any advice for new gardeners?
We always tell people to start with a few crops they really love: tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, herbs... Don’t worry about growing it all!
The farm stand at Bullock Lake is currently closed, but watch for updates as it may reopen this summer. The 2020 CSA season is sold out, but you can sign up here to be on the list for next season. If you need a little petal power, you can still sign up to their flower bucket or bouquet subscriptions.
