Our Holstead Story

Holstead Farms began as an idea from our urban backyard in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in the Fall of 2019. As a Family we started with one crop of Basil, which we grew from seed, and dried for our own kitchen use. We were able to give some Basil starts to friends and family and enjoyed the process of growing things in our basement!

With the success of the Basil we began dreaming of what we could do in a roughly 250 square foot garden space. After researching, we fell in love with the idea of four season harvesting. We then purchased a small cold frame and seeds to start growing for the Spring of 2020. At the time we were studying Botany as our Homeschool science, and we all wanted to get in on this process. We had created a "light box" but unfortunately the seeds that came with the kit were too old and did not germinate. Therefore, this quickly became a family project as each of our kids wanted to learn and be a part of the growing process. When posting to social media we invited others to follow us, using the play on words with our last name "Hol" we announced we were "Holsteading". Thus the name "Holstead Farms" was born.

That season our family grew a variety of tomatoes, peppers, lettuces and herbs, as well as beans, onions, carrots and flowers. We also had extra plant starts that we shared with family and friends. For the entire season we were able to feed our family and share the fruits of our labour with others. Those who purchased our starts reported back how healthy they were and how much yield they received from them. Encouraging us to keep growing. We really enjoyed growing food and flowers, but we especailly enjoyed sharing what we grew. We wanted to take this venture to a bigger property in order to provide our products to a larger community.

We began looking across Canada to see where would best suit our family. We continually came back to the East Coast, specifically, New Brunswick.

So, with the limits of restrictions from the Covid-19 Pandemic we purchased our 2.5 acre farm, in faith, virtually seen, in Aulac, New Brunswick. December of 2020, we moved across the country to begin "Holstead Farms." We purchased 2 greenhouse structures and began turning our dream into a reality, with the hopes of providing Fresh Produce, Cut Flowers, Quality Meat and Herbs for our New Brunswick community.

Three years into our farming venture, we began to see a need for Maritime Grown Flowers. So many Cut flowers are shipped from Ontario and beyond to our local florists. With our love of growing flowers, we decided to begin the shift into striving to meet the demand of Maritime Grown Flowers.

Every Season we continue to grow in our understanding and purpose here in New Brunswick. As our tagline says "Always Growing" we truly believe we are on a journey to continue learning.

Thank you for being a part of it.