As more people are realizing the benefits of growing their own food, greenery can be seen sprouting up in numerous yards across Yellowknife.
Lone Sorensen, a decades-long advocate for Northern gardening, has one such property that has been transformed into rows of pristine pathways lined with healthy produce.
She said there is definitely a gardening movement happening in the city and encourages anyone who has the space and a bit of time to start planting.
“I would say go for it. You will not regret it,” said Sorensen, who is also a gardening consultant.
As the owner of the Northern Roots Market Garden, she also runs a citywide mentorship program called ‘Transform Your Yard into a Food Garden.’
This year, Sorensen said she has 32 mentees who are learning gardening, beginning with the basics right up to learning the more advanced techniques of preparation and planting to ensure a garden thrives.
She also invites schools and youth groups to her garden to learn and do some hands-on gardening.
“I do a lot of teaching people for self-sufficiency, or to become market gardeners like myself,” Sorensen said. “That's been very, very worthwhile, to be able to be with people from the very beginning stages of planning a garden, to grow and harvest and finish a whole entire season.”
Sorensen also partners with several organizations, such as Avens and the Yellowknife Women’s Centre, where thriving gardens bask in the 24-hour light – something that definitely gives Northern growers an advantage in the fleeting summer months.
“That's why we're able to grow some of the most incredible, flavorful and sweet vegetables on the entire planet – because of all the photosynthesis,” she said.
Growing positivity
Zoe Share, deputy director of the Yellowknife Women’s Centre, said having the garden is a great opportunity for people to participate in a positive activity, be it watering it or just working with their hands in the soil.
“You can see something that you've planted grow and turn into food that you can cook in the kitchen and share with others, and just enjoy some time outside and beautify the area,” she said of the benefits of having the space.
The women's centre uses the food in daily cooking, Share said.
“So that really helps with having fresh and local produce that we have grown right in our own front yard, and it helps to cut down on some of the grocery costs that we incur that are rising or have risen quite a lot in the last few months and in the last year.”
Share said the gardening program and the volunteers who stop by regularly have provided the extra help needed to maintain the garden on an ongoing basis.
“So we're really grateful to have opportunities where other people can come and help us to get them started and keep up with it, and then also encourage participation from people that are accessing it,” she said.
Garden of eating
Sorensen said it's important to know how to place a garden and to consider one’s budget, as set up can become costly.
She said she has had great success in growing any kind of cabbage, kale, broccoli, lettuce and anything that likes a cooler climate, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips or other root vegetables. She also grows numerous herbs, including parsley, sage, lemon balm and mint, as well as edible flowers. In a greenhouse on site, Sorensen said the basil, cucumbers and tomatoes all are thriving.
Learning how to garden is a valuable skill to have, Sorensen said.
“I think it's a very important thing, and I think it's a skill that we really need to hone and bring back big time. There is nothing better than feeding yourself and keeping all those good vitamins and nutrients.
“I'm I feel very, very blessed to be able to pass on all this knowledge about growing local food that I've gathered over the last 35 plus years of growing food here in Yellowknife.”