Located on a long gravel road on the way to the Bugaboo Mountains in Brisco, Patty’s Greenhouse stands as a testament to the wonders of sustainable agriculture. Nestled on a terraced mountainside, this remarkable establishment boasts an impressive production of abundant market garden vegetables and greens.
Patty sells produce year-round due to a combination of growing styles including greenhouses and fields as well as storage areas (large root cellar and fridges). When it gets too hot for the greenhouses, growing moves to the fields for carrots, onions, garlic, beets, and potatoes which are stored for year-round sales.
Patty has a weekly delivery service to approximately 200 clients in the Invermere and Golden areas. She sends a list of available produce to recipients to order from including tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, microgreens, radishes, herbs, carrots, onions, and many others depending on the time of year. This helps reduce waste in the farm.
The location of Patty’s Greenhouse on the Columbia Wetlands presents a reminder to use resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. Patty and her team are cognizant about the regenerative and sustainable farming. As part of her commitment to environmental stewardship, one notable initiative is the installation of new solar panels, which harness the abundant sunlight in the area to generate clean and renewable energy to help reduce hydro costs for the greenhouses. This is a new adventure for Patty with unknown results at this time.
Brisco is approximately 75km south of Golden, nestled between the Rocky and Purcell Mountains, the growing season is short due to the cooler climate. Patty’s greenhouse operation began with 2 greenhouses 25 years ago, and has since grown to 6 greenhouses. Along the way, she bought a wood stove with the intention of growing year round, however this wasn’t successful due to not having additional light sources at the time. Since this first learning experience, lights and a generator have been added to increase growing.
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