Monthly Speaker Series - Jane Squier - Grow Citrus and Avocados in Canada? Why Not!

Grow Citrus and Avocados in Canada? Why Not!

CV Horticultural Society Meeting: June 15, 2026

Where: Florence Filberg Centre & Via Zoom W

hat Time: Doors open at 6.30pm, meeting at 7.15pm

Speaker: Jane Squier

Topic: Grow Citrus and Avocados in Canada? Why Not!

Website: https://comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca

Media Contact: Dulcie Smith –

On Monday, June 15, Jane Squier will be the guest speaker at the CV Hort. Society meeting. Can you grow citrus and avocados in Canada? Jane says “Why not!” — and she has the greenhouse to prove it. In 2012, Jane established a sub-tropical orchard in her 6,000 square foot greenhouse featuring 35 varieties of citrus and 4 varieties of avocados, with the goal of producing fresh fruit year-round as sustainably as possible. She will show the greenhouse systems she uses to create a low-input environment for sub-tropical fruit production, explain how she integrates regenerative principles to build healthy soil and plants without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and discuss specific varieties that excel in flavour and production.

Jane brings over 40 years of hands-on experience running successful greenhouse businesses and market gardens — in climates ranging from tropical Papua New Guinea to the cold reaches of Zone 3. She has operated both organic and hydroponic systems and is passionate about growing nutrient-dense food sustainably. Jane studied horticulture and agro-ecology at Olds College and UBC, and in recent years has been studying biological and regenerative farming principles with the Soil Food Web Foundation, the Soil Health Academy, and Integrity Soils. She is certified as a Soil Food Web lab-tech, and in 2020 received funding from Innovations Agriculture Canada to study leaf sap analysis for cold-hardy citrus and avocado production. Her citrus is now in high demand, sold to west coast chefs dedicated to featuring unique local produce.

Beyond her farm, Jane’s community contributions are wide-ranging — from founding the Salt Spring Film Festival in 1999 to serving as the technical partner in the award-winning GISS Farm-to-Cafeteria Program. She shares her knowledge through on-farm workshops, her website, and her YouTube channel.

Want to attend? If you’re joining us in person, we’ll be at the conference hall in the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay. Doors open at 6.30pm and the meeting will begin at 7.15pm. If you want to join us via Zoom see below for registration details.

How do I register for Zoom? Advanced registration for Zoom is required for both members and non-members. Current members will receive a separate Zoom invitation. Registration for non-members ($5.50) is very simple – visit our website at www.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca by 5:00pm on Friday, June 12, as it requires two days to process.

CVHS 2026 memberships are still available to purchase from our website or download a registration form and mail it in!