Caleb's Outlook B&B

Jim and Betty Newson’s 45 acre organic farm has some of the most breathtaking panoramic views on the island, or as Jim, who specializes in berry farming says: “we have a berry good view!” Their chalet styled home, which is also a seasonal Bed and Breakfast from June through September, sits atop a hill overlooking the deep blue meandering contours of the River Clyde and Rustico Bay. Surrounded by rolling hills patterned with the sharp green of pastureland and red furrows of farms, Caleb’s Outlook lies in the heart of some of the most productive farmland on the island.

Jim spent many summers of his youth working on farms, and graduated from Nova Scotia Agriculture College and McGill’s MacDonald College in 1969 with his Batchelor of Science in Agriculture. Betty’s background is in nutrition. The couple moved to Prince Edward Island in 1977 where Jim worked as an agriculture representative for the Provincial government, providing the local farming community with farm business management advice and assistance.

In 2000, the Newsons purchased their current home, and the adjoining land in the outskirts of New Glasgow, and started transforming the hillside into a sanctuary both for themselves and the many Canadian and international visitors who come to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and beautifully tended gardens at Caleb’s Outlook.

The Newsons main focus is organic berries and rhubarb. They have an expanding strawberry, raspberry, and rhubarb production, and have recently started growing blackcurrants as well. The majority of their berries are sold to the PEI Preserve Company in New Glasgow to be made into delicious organic fruit preserves, and to visitors through their U-pick operation, however the couple do keep some for themselves and their B & B guests.

The Newsons also have a small vegetable garden that supplies their kitchen with fresh tasty vegetables all summer long. Anything extra they sell locally off the farm.

In addition to their carefully tended berry patches and vegetable garden, Caleb’s Outlook is surrounded by lush flower gardens. Both avid gardeners, the Newsons are developing a rose garden, and have colourful perennial flower beds all around their home that brighten the hillside and attract beneficial insects.

Jim and Betty want to see small farms continue to prosper on Prince Edward Island, and they feel that the only way this will happen is through pursuing farming methods that build the fertility of the soil using locally available inputs. Although Jim does not have livestock of his own, he gets manure from the dairy farmer next door. He also grows annual rye grass, peas, oats, fall rye and buckwheat which become green manures, adding nitrogen to the soil. In the near-future, he plans to experiment with using locally dredged mussel mud on his blackcurrants. His main source of mulch is straw.

Jim and Betty are also concerned about both human and environmental health, which they see as a mutually reciprocal relationship. Jim learned a stewardship motto as a young person in Boy Scouts that he still follows today: “Always leave it better than you found it.” This belief is reflected in the 1400 trees that the Newsons have planted on their land to provide additional wind barriers and reduce erosion. They are also looking into installing solar panels to reduce their fossil fuel consumption.

Many of the visitors that stay at Caleb’s Outlook are attracted by the organic food served at their table, and the opportunity to spend time out in the gardens. Practicing an alternative, mixed farming model also provides opportunities to educate visitors about sustainable farming methods. The land management teaches guests, and the through insights shared, ideas exchanged, and the sheer enjoyment of the land’s fruits, guests give back to the island.

The Newsons envision Caleb’s Outlook as an agro-tourism destination that is just starting to blossom. They see that organic farming is a growing market that can bring benefits to themselves, their community, and the environment that they live in and call home. Their hope is that their plans will contribute to putting Prince Edward Island on the map as a place where community, family, and traditions are valued. A place where visitors can come enjoy the fresh, sweet fruits of their labour, relax in the gardens, and take in the rolling red hills and fields of tall green grasses rippling in the summer breeze, with the famous blue waters of the north Atlantic in the background.