The Farm
Nestled between the forest and the ocean…
Welcome to the Barnabas Farm
If you have ever been to Barnabas you know we love a good meal. Over the last decade we have been following that love from the plate all the way back to the soil. That journey has flourished into a delightful little farm including a greenhouse full of over 50 varieties of tomatoes, a ½ acre vegetable garden, a flock of laying hens, a herd of pigs, 5 very silly ducks, and a few dozen heritage fruit trees.
We try to grow as much of our food as possible, but we’ve discovered over time that farm has a secondary harvest, a bit harder to spot and a little more intangible, but just as essential. We have come to think of the farm as a little delight-generating engine, providing us and our guests with little pockets of wonder year round.
In the spring it is the sound of a dozen baby piglets all snoring in a big pile in the barn. In the summer it is the smell of fresh basil in the greenhouse and the sound of kids finding the ripest tomatoes they can. In the fall it is the sight of a generous squash harvest and the tart taste of fresh pressed orchard apple cider. In the winter it is watching the chickens very reluctantly step through a fresh layer of snow in the yard.
These little moments invite us back into relationship as fellow creatures with all of God’s creation. They have become what we value most about the farm.
Some of the 54 varieties of heirloom tomato from the Barnabas Farm
Meet Kim and Christoph
Kim and Christoph look after the Barnabas Farm with the help of many short term volunteers and staff who assist at different times during the year.
Kim and Christoph Sanz, with Becky the hen
A couple of summer staff veterans who were naively unaware of each other when they were on staff together way back in 2008, Kim and Christoph are now happily married and happily farming at Barnabas full time. Over the last decade Kim has applied her passion for growing food onto Barnabas’ small vegetable plot, expanding it into a joyful mess of animals, gardens, and greenhouses.
Just when the mess was getting too extravagant for one person to handle, Christoph came along, innocently assuming that he had just signed up for one summer. They got married in January of 2019 and haven’t stopped weeding since! Their son Elliot has recently joined them as the farm’s lead soil taste tester.
Christoph comments,
“We often say we are the luckiest farmers we know; not only do we have the privilege of being the stewards of this unbelievable corner of the earth, but we daily get to work at the intersection of farming and ministry. We are drawn there by Jesus’ own life. In the Gospels it seems like Jesus is either telling a story about a farm or sitting down for a meal and every time he sits down for a meal he creates a space of grace, welcome, and forgiveness.”
Bringing it to the table
Scripture starts in a garden, but it ends in a feast and that is a trajectory we can get behind here at Barnabas Landing! The farm and kitchen team work side by side to take the harvest and prepare, cook, and preserve it to create humble feasts all year. And when the farm season slows down we keep ourselves busy making preserves, candles, soaps and whatever fun things we can scheme up.
Come and visit
There are a 4 ways to experience the Barnabas Farm.
Come as a guest: If you come to Barnabas as a guest for a retreat or with a private rental group, you are welcome to take stroll over to the farm and have a look around! If we’re around feel free to ask us questions; we’d love an excuse to take a break from weeding.
Visit (summer only): The Farm is open to the public during our Family Summer Season (late June to late August). You can combine your visit with a ice cream from our General Store!
Buy produce (summer only): Do you have a cabin on Keats or are you camping at Plumper Cove this summer? During our summer season we offer weekly sales of freshly harvested produce from the farm and baked good from our kitchen. Find out more here.
Come as a volunteer: If you have farm-related enthusiasm and would like to explore spending some time volunteering on our farm, please get in touch. We have very limited volunteer openings, so we are not able to say yes to everyone who applies.