On a beautiful plot of land, along the edge of Timothy Lake, Stephanie Klauset and her husband run a small farm on their property.
Their business, Timothy Lake Farm Products, grows potatoes, tomatoes, perennials they grow themselves, petunias and all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Klauset says she started gardening out of a simple love for the activity. When she moved to Upper Bradley Creek in 1976 she found herself homesteading, without access to electricity.
Immediately, she says, she started growing tomatoes, which the cow promptly ate.
“We were pretty self sufficient as far as food goes on that property,” she says.
When she moved to the property on Timothy Lake she says she just continued, bringing some of the plants with her from Bradley Creek.
“We grow at least 1000 pounds of potatoes a year at least and enough vegetables to sustain ourselves,” she says.
Klauset also stocks 100 Mile Feed and Ranch with her produce and plants, as well as attends the weekly South Cariboo Farmers’ Market in 100 Mile House .
“For the love of gardening, [it] spawned into a small business,” she says.
The property, 19 km from Lac la Hache at 5790 Timothy Lake Rd. sells “farm gate” products from 9-5 Monday to Thursday and Saturdays and Klauset invites anyone who is interested to take a stroll around the farm and look at her gardens.
“I love to pass on personal experiences,” she says, adding that if anyone has any questions about gardening in the area she is happy to answer them.
For beginner gardeners, she suggests starting small.
“If there is a vegetable or a fruit that you would like to eat, experiment with that. Prepare your garden bed well beforehand and then expand it each year so that you learn and you’re not overwhelmed and disappointed,” she says.
Right now, she suggests planting things like radishes, kohlrabi and spinach as well as peas and sweet peas because they are are tolerant and like the cool weather.
She also suggests people avoid planting under fur, spruce and pine trees.
However, she says one of the interesting things about gardening is that she learns something new every year.
“What I love the most out of each gardening year is the new things that I’ve learned and I am able to apply the next year. You know, there is not one year where I don’t learn something new.”
Timothy Lake Farm Products start firing up the greenhouses in February and Klauset says she spends about three hours every day in the greenhouses making sure everything is going well.
Everything they grow is also organic. Klauset uses neither herbicides or pesticides on her flowers or vegetables.
Despite the time she spends in her garden, Klauset hopes that beginner gardeners don’t hesitate in picking up a shovel.
“Don’t ever be afraid to start and don’t be intimidated. I don’t want people to ever be discouraged. Start small and learn.”
Timothy Lake Farm Products can be reached at 250-396-7150.