Goldenrose Gardiner
Owner of Deep Roots Farm


Hi, my name is Goldenrose Gardiner, so I guess with a name like that it seems fitting that I ended up in the world of gardening. I had the privilege of growing up with parents who loved growing all their own veggies and preserving the bounty for the winter. I remember days when I was younger running thru the tall asparagus ferns and the excitement of digging up and discovering potatoes in the soil. It was truly a magical way to grow up. That magic never ends in the garden and it’s why I am in love with working with nature. 
I have always worked outside, starting at 15-years old at Advanced Orchards. I worked doing organic landscaping, and at a few different greenhouses, some not organic.  During that time I saw the brutal realism of what plants, including our vegetable seedlings, have to endure. I knew there was a better way. So after moving to Vancouver Island I set out to learn more about sustainable food production and working in harmony with nature.
In 2008 I went to Victoria’s Seedy Saturday where I first met Carolyn Herriot. I bought her amazing book A Year On the Garden Path. I was intrigued at all the possibilities of a year-round  garden here on the west coast. I reached out to her and it was my lucky day, as she was looking for someone to help her run her seed business Seeds Of Victoria. 
We quickly clicked and she became my mentor and dear friend. She was so knowledgeable, inspiring, and had such positive enthusiasm that can make anyone want to pick up a gardening fork and get to building up that soil. I was hooked. She taught me the art of saving a wide variety of seeds, how to grow veggies, build soil, and different composting and fertilizing techniques. As well as the importance of the work that we were doing in our growing world and changing climate.
So I set out with all this new inspiring information to try my hand at organic farming. Let me just start off by saying WOW was I humbled.
In 2011 I met Derek Powell, a  garlic enthusiast with the same passion for growing veggies and local food security. He was just finishing his first year farming an acre plot on a community farm called Haliburton Farms and was looking for a farming partner. Bingo, you guessed it-moi. There’s a huge difference between gardening and farming. I have such a deep respect for farmers now, knowing fully what it takes to start, grow, market and sustain a successful farm. 
We farmed our plot, Barefoot Organics for 4 years. Our focus was seed saving, providing for a CSA (community supported agriculture), market gardening, a small nursery and a diverse garlic patch of 14 different types of garlic. Derek now grows 150 types.
Like any first time farmer I quickly learned what works and what doesn’t and to really think about  design and
functionality. 
​In 2015 I moved up to Nanaimo to be with my partner Andrew. It just so happened Carolyn and her husband Guy had moved up island as well and were living in Yellow Point. Being an opportunist saw their neighbouring property go up for sale and thought “ this would be a great farm”. She presented me with the opportunity to turn the overgrown orchards, compacted but fertile horse paddock and run down greenhouse into a functioning farm. 
Thus in 2017 Deep Roots Farm was born. For the first two years we ran a 25-member CSA, sold at the Beban Park Farmers Market, had a small nursery and sold to Gabriel’s Cafe downtown Nanaimo. In 2018 Carolyn and I created the Grow Your Own Farm program where we have students join us for the growing season. Teaching them all about food production that can be applied to any scale big or small.
In 2019 we focused our energy on the nursery, wholesaling to Gabriel’s Cafe, 8000 garlic bulbs, as well as our Farm school. This has brought me all kinds of adventures and taught me so much. I am forever grateful for this deep dedication I feel to the earth and for all the people who have supported us and grown with us.
How many of us stop and think about the food we eat? Where does it come from? Who grew it? How did they grow it? How old is it? What am I eating? Why am I eating it?
Farming has taught me the importance of these questions. Our bodies need healthy, nutrient-rich, organically-grown food to thrive not just survive. I love that growing my own food gives me that and I know exactly how it was grown and where it comes from.  It is a true joy to be in the garden amongst the veggies, flowers and herbs, co-creating a magical ecosystem that in return gives back so much more than just food. I am totally inspired to share this knowledge with others so more spaces can be nurtured back into health, and people can feel confident feeding themselves and sharing their garden.

Carolyn Herriot

A FIVE-YEAR VISION for Greater Food Security
‘A vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare’
                                                                     -Japanese proverb

Imagine where we could be in five years if we had a plan? What would it be like if suddenly ‘Edible landscaping’ became de rigueur, and everyone started growing plants they could eat in their gardens? What would it feel like if people shared backyards and laneways, established micro-farms with ducks chickens geese and rabbits, and grew food in allotment gardens? Imagine food and fruit trees growing on boulevards and in public gardens, and urban farms producing substantial amounts of organic fruits and vegetables. We could create a taste of Tuscany where we live!
Farmers markets would thrive as more and more food became available, and young farmers would discover there is good income to be made from growing food after all. ‘Love your Farmer’ would be the most popular bumper sticker on electric cars. There would be food gardens in schoolyards, and education on nutrition and growing food in primary and secondary schools, so that children learn and remember the vital connection between their diet and their health.
Farmers and gardeners would save seeds for future harvests, and community seed banks would spring up to safeguard collective food security. Universities and community colleges would teach sustainable small-scale farming, and institutions and businesses would offer loans and grants to help new farmers get started.
A vision today is the best way to create reality in future. I know from personal experience that growing my own food leads to a good, healthy and happy life, and that’s what I want for all of us. When better to start than now?

The future depends on what you do today, so 
be the change that you want to see in the world
                                                                                             ​- Gandhi