British Columbia: Fruit trees on Bowen Island

Hello, I am thinking of purchasing a property on Bowen island with the desire to plant lots of fruit trees and have a wicked garden. As a novice gardener, I wonder what advice you folks have for choosing a property - how will I know how appropriate the soil/landscape will be for growing fruit trees and other garden delicacies? (Not really interested in flowers, more interested in food.)

Thank you in advance for any direction/advice/resources!
Bren.

 

Level land with good soil. Bottom land if possible. Take a shovel to prospective properties and try digging down a foot or two. If you hit a lot of rocks forget it.

Also a good source of water is important. Many island properties have poor wells, and cannot water large gardens in the summer.

 

Another thing to look for is a sunny location. There are lots of big trees on Bowen, and a garden on the north side of a grove of big Douglas-Fir trees won't do very well. If you plan to grow any heat-loving fruits or vegetables, it would be desirable to have a south-facing gentle slope with no big trees to the south. Actually, you don't want any big trees anywhere near your garden because their roots will rob it of moisture and nutrients.