18 ACRES OF U-PICK SWEET CORN – NOW THAT’S A FIELD OF DREAMS!
For thirty years we’ve grown sweet corn that people have become addicted to. We conducted many, many trials until we discovered the best variety for our growing season and location. The corn is so good that u-pickers drive from near and far to get it, and others have switched supermarkets during our corn season.
Customers have told us that our corn surpasses Taber and Chilliwack corn by miles. We believe our climate and well-drained soil has produced a sweeter, crunchier, and more flavorful product.
Farmers are stewards of the Earth. Our seeds are non-GMO, and the gravity-fed irrigation system stems from McLeese Lake as stewardship of resources is very important to us. We also have an Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) and are audited for good agricultural practices.
Come pick your own cobs at our Soda Creek farm, just half an hour from Williams Lake.
You can find our corn at some supermarkets, including Save On Foods—ask your local store for more information.
Please note that Soda Creek Sweet Corn is seasonal—this depends on the weather, but we usually sell from 2nd week of August to 3rd week of September.
Our address, when put into a Nav program, will send drivers far out of the way. We have highway signs (installed during our open season) that direct you straight to the ranch. You can also follow your friends’ directions, or look at the map on our Facebook page or here on the web site.
Yes. The corn seed and vegetable seed that we plant are non-GMO.
No. Why? Technically, because we do not plant certified organic seed and we use fertilizers. Some of the fertilizers we use are certified organic, but others are not.
We buy our corn seed from Stokes Seeds in Ontario. The majority of our veggie seeds come from there as well. Check out their site and let us know if there’s something you’d like us to try!
We are planting the exact same seed as many sweet corn growers, but there are a few local factors that make our corn stand out from the rest:
Irrigation: we water the plants with fresh McLeese Lake water.
Temperature: our microclimate provides above average HOT growing days here in the valley alongside COOL nights when the plants respire. This adds to the sweetness of produce.
Soil: we have wonderful, sandy loam soil here that drains well so the roots don’t stay wet.
No—we are a U-Pick. Our goal is for visitors to pick their own produce FRESH from the field and the garden. Tha’t’s why we won’t be seen at a Farmer’s Market either.
There are many agencies that come at the end of the season and glean the remaining produce for food banks, charities, and other groups. We stay open until frost and only the hardiest of veggies are left after we close. All else is composted back into the soil for next year’s growth.
Yes. Every now and then the connection to the service is down and we make other payment arrangements (eTransfers, etc.).
In the Fall and Winter seasons, one might see 1,500+ animals around the ranch. During our corn/veggie season (Aug and Sept) the cow herd is roaming the open range (across the highway) or they’ve been sold. It works well that our two enterprises offset each other. The cows come home in late October.
No. We reserve a small number of animals from our commercial herd to fill our freezers during the corn season.
Most definitely! Williams Lake is the hometown of Rick Hansen, right? Although it can be a bit bumpy, the field and garden see people of all mobilities.
Yes. There is a washroom up at the Check In/Out.
When you arrive, you will be greeted by a staff member. They will advise you where people are picking corn that day. They will also explain how to pick and how to choose ripe cobs. Most visitors bring their own bags/boxes/totes to put their corn into, but we have bags for folks that drop in without them. The garden has a shed with a map of the vegetables, and bags and boxes for one’s pickings.
We began the U-Pick corn in 1982… 35+ years ago!!! We ran a test garden in 2013 to see if people were interested—they were!—so, the U-Pick vegetable garden began in 2014.
In the corn field, YES, as long as they’re well behaved and don’t bother any other visitors. In the garden, NO. We do not permit any animals in the vegetable garden. There is a large grass area, outside of the garden, that you and your pet can enjoy.
No. There is a corn maze to the north of us, near Kersley.
Aphids! They are completely harmless. We also have a healthy population of ladybugs and other beneficial insects.
Birds—those rascally red-winged blackbirds—they peck at the tops of the best cobs. Bird damage happens early in the season and then drops off by the end of week 2. We tell visitors to take a couple of extra cobs per dozen to make up for the tips of damaged cobs that they’ll cut off. Pickers can avoid the damaged cobs if they like.
We grow the garden as naturally as we can. We encourage beneficial insect populations, we use cover cloth on sensitive plants, and use natural deterrents and companion planting to reduce insect damage.
Yes. We supply many stores from 100 Mile House up to Prince George.
Picked corn, if kept in a cool and dark place, will last seven to ten days. For longer keeping, try freezing the corn!
Give our office a call. We have a warehouse that packages corn for supermarkets. We can arrange for your event to be added to our local orders and arrange delivery.
Our season lasts 4 to 6 weeks. We usually open between the 15th and 20th of August and we usually close around the 20th to 25th of September once there has been a frost. It changes every year depending on Mother Nature.
Send us a resume! Our season is comparatively short and we always need motivated and flexible people to join our team.
© Copyright 2022-2023 Soda Creek Sweet Corn / Dunlevy Ranch
