The Nichols Family
Nearly 50 Years on Victoria Island
The Nichols family has owned and operated Victoria Island Farms since 1964. In the beginning most of the land was leased to tenant farmers who grew potatoes and beans. As their contracts expired, we took over farming operations ourselves, and in 1987 we packed our first box of asparagus.
Like most islands here in the Delta, our soil has a high pH balance. Formerly river bottom, the organic soil on Victoria Island is high in peat content. All the necessary minerals for fine quality asparagus are already present and there is little need to doctor the soil beyond routine crop rotations – switching out asparagus for corn, tomatoes, alfalfa, and wheat. The lightness and airiness of the peat soil allows asparagus spears to shoot up easily. In peak growing season our asparagus can grow at a rate of 10 inches per day!
Recently, we've expanded our primary offerings to include blueberries. Native blackberries flourish on the island, and we thought blueberries – nutritious and hardy – would also adapt well to our soil and climate. We were right and are very excited about this new crop just coming into full production.