Just a couple city slickers now kickin’ it in the Koots.

Tyler & Catherine, along with their two boys, Hayden and Sam, two dogs Scout and Teddy, who don’t guard much of anything, and we can’t forget Whiskers the cat.

Originating in Lethbridge, they made the move for a 7-year detour through Calgary. Upon the realization that they could grow garlic in Calgary, Ty pushed for a return to his mother’s Dutch immigrant roots and they decided to scale with a lifestyle move to Nelson’s North Shore on a 14-acre property. This in itself was a journey where they had to learn the ins and outs of renovating a property, which originated in circa 1935. They had an early lesson on the Kootenay Lifestyle, learning to go with the flow of life as they lived in a RV and partially renovated house, while navigating the logistics of a new farm. Not only did they have to figure out the soil and how to make it the most fertile as possible (which took lots of labor and hours on the old Massey Ferguson), they also had to figure out the water systems and what would work best on the newly acquired piece of land.

Trying to balance the new lifestyle and a family was a task in itself, seeing as it’s not a top priority for young kids to help build a 3-acre fence to keep the abundance of wildlife out of the garlic. They made adjustments as they went along making lots of time for the new Kootenay lifestyle. Spending lots of their time fishing, fishing… more fishing, dirt biking, skiing, boating, and everything else you can think of in their new backyard.

Being heavily involved with the community had its perks, as they were able to exchange track suits for the team with the assistance of planting some garlic. The garlic started to grow and the farm started to come together one piece at a time, as the old Massey started to fall apart one piece at a time. The boys started selling garlic, eggs, and pumpkins to the neighbor’s, to local restaurants, and even the farmers market in town.

With the construction of their 1000 sq ft greenhouse, they are looking into all possibilities available to expand the farming operations while keeping with the values of sustainable, and organic farming practices.

One thing we know for sure is there can never be enough Garlic, for Ty, anyway.

Sitkum Creek Farms Ltd.