Chinese market gardeners in the City of Burnaby BC continue to practice urban agriculture

Photo of a Big Bend farm next to suburban homes in the crowded municipality of Burnaby. Photo by Michael Levenston. Larger version here. (2MB)

Highly productive Chinese-Canadian market gardens in the Big Bend area of Burnaby

In 1979, John Jeavons, a California intensive grower, visited City Farmer and toured the Chinese market gardens in Burnaby. He was astounded at the productivity of these urban farms. They were producing for the urban market in the 1800′s and continue to do so today.

The importance of the Chinese-Canadian market gardens in the Big Bend area of Burnaby was described in 1912 by The British Columbian as such: “The Chinese farmers have been for years developing and reaping the benefits of the rich soil. By draining the land with a series of ditches, the [growers] have reduced what was once little better than a cranberry marsh into a richly productive farming area which is one of the most valuable assets to…Burnaby.”

Many Chinese-Canadian families who had for years leased their farms began to purchase land in the 1950s and cultivated small parcels of up to 10 acres for growing assorted Canadian and Chinese vegetables for sale – either wholesale or in the market’s roadside stands on Marine Drive, frequented by many loyal Burnaby customers.

Approximately 160 acres in Burnaby City are in agricultural production and are highly productive. (Burnaby is a city adjacent to Vancouver, pop. approx. 200,000)

Big Bend farms from the air.

Farms in the Big Bend area of Burnaby currently represent a significant percentage of the vegetable production in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland. Recent proposals will see the introduction of 174 acres of cranberry production concurrent with parcel consolidations in keeping with their long term agricultural use.

See agriculture in the City of Burnaby here.

See an earlier 2001 summary of agriculture in Burnaby here.