Ausden Organic Farm B&B ( Oliver )

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Originally established in the early 1920's by Dutch settlers, arriving in the valley via Winnipeg, the farm has gone through a number of different hands till we bought it in June of 2002.

The "Hack Farm", its original name still is used widely, was known for its cut flowers, onions and melons. According to the "old timers" the property was very picturesque with a multitude of perennials flowering all the time. At one point there were 16 fully functioning green houses on the site.

The farm is spectacularly situated on the west side of highway 97 midway between Osoyoos and Oliver in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The area is part of Canada's only true desert, with an average rainfall of less than 10 inches. The area is known for its hot dry summers and mild winters, and its reliance on irrigation to produce fruit and vegetables.

The property comprises 10.9 acres of orchard, pasture and pristine desert, and stretches from the highway steeply up the mountain to the west. It affords incredible views of the valley, several small lakes and the Similkameen River from almost anywhere on the property.

Since the original family left the farm it has gone downhill, to the extent that in 2002 there had been no irrigation in place for a number of years and the fruit trees had suffered significantly as a result. Presently the farm has a number of healthy trees still bearing fruit and we are in the process of adding where there are gaps and where we have had to cut down dead trees. Thus we have: