Pinsch of Soil Farm is a 2.5 acre vegetable farm in South Langley established in 2013. We’re next to Vista D’oro winery and the Campbell Valley Park.
Who we are
We – that is Nadja, Marcel and our daughters Lily (born 2013) and Melissa (born 2017). The four of us love growing our own food and sharing it with others. Nadja has a passion for growing vegetables from seed and tending to them until harvest. She is also the one who looks after our chickens. She received a BSc in Forestry and Conservation from UBC. Her farming experience comes from working at Westham Island Herb Farm since 2008.
Marcel grew up in a rural farming community and cherishes the idea of “field to table” menus. He’s very keen on a Permaculture approach to farming. Wandering through the fields, his mind usually wonders how to better connect the various elements to benefit each other. He started out in Political Science, studying the relation between actors in social structures.
Caring for our soil
Our main focus is on building fertile soil which is full of life and can hold a lot of moisture. That means little tilling, keeping our ground covered with either mulches or cover crops. We established flowering patches to attract beneficial insects. They in turn are working hard to keep our pests in check. We value the idea of companion planting, although implementing this in a market garden isn’t always possible.
Fertilizer and Pest Management
Besides those efforts, we use certified organic fertilizer to start off our seedlings in the field, add our own compost and compost tea. When aphids take over, we use stinging nettle tea and insecticidal soap as a last resort. We’ve made our own milk spray to ward off mildew. Crop rotation is key to prevent the spread of diseases. When not in use, we let our chickens roam over a field, amend the soil with well rotted horse manure and plant cover crops.