Who are we?
Soil Mates Farm is a small vegetable farm in Farmington, Nova Scotia run by a Mykal Koloff, Marena Thomson and Robin Johnston. We are first-generation farmers who are passionate about feeding ourselves, our community and our soil.
Mykal Koloff has been an owner-operator of Soil Mates Farm since its start-up in 2015. He grew up on the South Shore of NS in Chester and is a graduate of StFX University with a diploma in Environmental Engineering. He was inspired to start the farm during his travels after university and is also interested in soils, forest ecology, tree crops, carbon sequestration and music - which he spends much of his “free” time engaging with.
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Marena Thomson was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. In 2011 she moved to Nova Scotia to attend NSCAD and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015. She met Mykal, who was in the process of starting the farm, during her final semester at NSCAD and chose to stay to learn the art of growing vegetables. Marena has been an owner-operator of Soil Mates Farm since 2015. She maintains an art practice that includes painting, drawing, photography, textiles/fibre art, graphic design, sculpture and performance whenever there is free time.
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Robin Johnston is originally from the Ottawa Valley in Ontario. She moved to Nova Scotia in 2013 to work on an organic vegetable farm and fell in love with farming and the East Coast. After several years of working on farms and operating a farm business solo, she joined Soil Mates Farm as an owner-operator in 2018. Beyond farming Robin enjoys cooking, fermenting, knitting and trips to the beach.
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Our mission
We work to provide high-quality and nutritious produce grown in an ecologically responsible way for our community.
Where to find us?Our farm produces a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs sold on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia. You can find us weekly at the Lunenburg Farmers' Market and the Privateer Farmers' Market in Liverpool. As well our produce is featured at several restaurants on the South Shore including The Beach Pea, The Bicycle Lunchbox, and The Port Grocer.
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How do we do it?We focus on growing high-quality, delicious vegetables while continuously working to improve our soil health through the use of cover crops and proper nutrient management. We also encourage biodiversity on our farm by creating habitat for birds, frogs, snakes, bees, worms, and more. This biodiversity helps us control pests and diseases, make nutrients available to our crops and so much more! We also control pests and diseases through physical barriers (such as row cover and insect netting), crop rotation and biological controls.
Our vegetables are non-GMO and grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. |
Collaboration
We have been operating the farm since 2015 in affiliation with Solomon Brook Farm (http://www.solomonbrookfarm.ca/). Lloyd is a fine wood worker & Helga runs healing workshops, take a look at their site if you are interested in their work.
Catch us at the Lunenburg Farmers' Market on Thursdays from 8-12
and seasonally at the Privateers Farmers' Market in Liverpool on Saturdays from 9-1.
If you're interested in special orders, restaurant sales or anything else contact us here.
and seasonally at the Privateers Farmers' Market in Liverpool on Saturdays from 9-1.
If you're interested in special orders, restaurant sales or anything else contact us here.