About
Farm to Garden Organics
ABOUT Farm to GardeN
Farm to Garden Organics rebranded from Stanhope Organics in 2020, continuing to recycle garden waste to produce our all-natural soil developer. Our mission is to contribute to a cleaner, greener Victoria, and we’re constantly working towards this by:
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Keeping garden waste out of landfills, reducing urban and agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
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Closing the loop; maintaining a circular system where the material our natural soil developer helps grow is used on our farm as bedding, and ultimately transformed back into the same soil that grew it
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Educating customers on how we recycle their Garden Waste, the quality controls we have in place, and the benefits of our method of composting both to their garden and their local environment
The Farm to Garden Cycle
Our soil developer is a combination of recycled green waste and dairy cattle manure. Heated and decomposed into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, this material can be used to develop your soil, improve water retention, break up clay, and increase microbial activity.
A developed soil is the cornerstone of a healthy garden, and it’s our goal to provide South Vancouver Island with premium cultured soil products at an affordable, wholesale price. We do this through our large scale, automated facility that features advanced technologies including:
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Remote windrow temperature monitoring
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In-floor aeration for eight 60-meter windrows
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Local soil lab analysis
Our system allows us to divert large volumes of unnecessary waste from the landfill and integrate it as an essential component of our farm waste management program. We combine the organic waste of our farm with the green waste of Greater Victoria to create premium cultured soil products.
History
Formerly known as Stanhope Organics, the farm was founded in the Uplands of Cadboro Bay, Victoria in the 1950’s. It started as a dairy farm, milking 26 cows and supplying the Jubilee Hospital with its dairy requirements. The farm moved to Richmond Road shortly after, becoming a 40 cow operation and was the largest milk producer on the island. In the 1960’s, we moved to our current location and were a successful dairy operation until the late 2000’s.
The farm and its surrounding area continued to grow, and within a few years the farm sold manure-enriched soil to all the neighbouring farms. In 2010, we invested in a composting facility, which was renovated in 2015 and put to use processing agricultural waste and manure. In 2020, we rebranded to Farm to Garden Organics, but we carry on the same mission; to improve quality and the value of our products, by increasing the frequency and scope of lab analysis, investing in technology and facility upgrades to improve our quality control, and applying for organic certification and producing a quality organic local product.
ABOUT THE GM
Joel Aldrich is the General Manager of Farm to Garden Organics. Joel grew up in Cobble Hill, and got his bachelor’s degree in economics from uVic. In 2015, during the last summer of his degree, he joined Farm to Garden, which was known as Stanhope Organics at the time. He later followed up his degree, studying chemical engineering at Dalhousie. Joel now successfully manages the Farm to Garden legacy, pushing towards a cleaner, greener Victoria.
