As spring brings warm temperatures to Yellowknife, a garden full of edible plants is taking shape on 57 Street.
Market Garden by Lone Sorensen, owner of Northern Roots Consulting, has been growing vegetables in Yellowknife for more than 30 years. Sorensen is focusing on agriculture consulting and working with communities to help them learn how to grow their own vegetables.
Last year, she built a new garden on land owned by a friend of hers who wanted the whole yard turned into a food garden.
“They’ve supported me to grow this space so that I can do a Northern Roots Market Garden,” Sorensen said. “We don’t have a lot of access to land, especially land where we can actually grow food, so that’s hopefully something we can work together more with the city.”
Sorensen’s garden includes more than 10 types of vegetables such as rhubarb, radishes, arugula, and even herbs.
The garden was started last year and she hopes to have more customers this year.
Sorensen is changing the way she sells her vegetables by putting them on her Facebook page or website so people can place orders online.
Sorensen said she had about a few very regular customers last year who would come to her garden every week.
Sorensen has also created a mentorship program called ‘Transform Your Yard into a Food Garden’ which is supported by the City of Yellowknife.
She said her program fits with the city’s agriculture strategy and aims to increase self-sufficiency among gardeners and market gardening.
Sorensen is encouraging people to start growing food on their own because it can help with climate change,
“If we take care of the soil and plants, we will become caretakers of Mother Nature, who will produce more than enough food for us,” she said.