Conditions ripe for a new connection to our food
Gardens can be a source of rewarding work that can also ease stress
Since the pandemic lockdown began, my house plants have been joined by a few new arrivals: Tomatoes, basil, parsley, dill, cilantro and spinach now clutter my tables and counters.
I know I’m not alone. As COVID-19 restrictions have worn on, I’ve noticed that more and more people are starting to grow food in their homes.
Perhaps it’s the boredom of having no extracurricular activities. There’s also the fear of the grocery store, the difficulty of keeping fresh herbs around when you’re shopping in bulk. And there are the whispers about food insecurity, of problems farmers are having in Canada and abroad.
Regardless of my reasons, my father would be proud.
See, this isn’t the first time I’ve grown my own produce. My father has been an organic vegetable farmer my whole life, and still is today, on a farm in rural British Columbia. He’s always said people aren’t connected enough to their food, and I count myself lucky to have grown up eating according to what’s in season.
Sylvain Charlebois is a Dalhousie University professor of food distribution and policy. He says he’s “not surprised at all” that people are turning to gardening during the pandemic. With concerns about food security and more stress than we know what to do with, he says, a garden is “great for the soul.”
Amid news of temporary foreign workers struggling to make it to Canada during the pandemic, there have been worries about a potential shortage of domestic produce, says Charlebois, “that could actually push people to produce their own.”
My father, Doug Saba, tells me over the phone that he thinks Canadians have become spoiled for produce, something I’ve heard from him before.
He says because of all the cheaper produce that comes from the United States, it gets harder every year to make money as a farmer. But he thinks demand for local produce could go up due to COVID-19.
Daniel “Ocean” Rinzler, coowner of Toronto’s Healthy Garden Company, says the company is seeing a lot of interest right now in their services, which include setting up backyard gardens for city dwellers. “This pause and this shift, we hope, is also creating more awareness of dependency on big box stores,” he says.
Rinzler says he believes gardening is good for our mental health because it’s rewarding work.
That’s what Isaac Wurmann has found. He’d never been a gardener, but in a few short weeks it’s turned into a hobby that’s taken over his whole home.
Wurmann, a freelance writer in Winnipeg (and a friend from university), told me his mother loves to plant flowers and the occasional tomatoes. When Wurmann decided to help her out, he became obsessed with gardening, talking about it to “anyone who will listen.”
The plants are everywhere, even lining the staircase of their home.
“I don’t know what compelled me to do it,” he says. “I just really kind of fell in love with … the act of planting these seeds.”
Charlebois himself grew up on a farm that had a vegetable garden the size of a football field. His suggestions for people just starting out? The “easy stuff,” like lettuce, radishes and beans. And if you’ve got the time and space, a small greenhouse could go a long way toward helping you increase your yield.
On our farm, asparagus is the first thing to grow anew, amid leeks and other things that have weathered the winter, insulated by the snow. The first handful of asparagus feels like a small celebration. I hardly ever eat it otherwise. Even my father, who’s been growing asparagus for years, says he gets excited about it every season.
Rhubarb is also a milestone for him: “It’s the first thing you can make pie out of.” (Pie is big in our household.)
Strawberries are probably the most anticipated part of the year . To me, they are inextricably linked with homemade strawberry shortcake and fresh jam.
In fall, the root vegetables are in full swing. So is garlic, a cash crop for market gardeners. Squash is harvested. Meals are hearty and colourful and full of starch. It’s also the perfect time to make pumpkin pie, which we make using squash, because they’re the same thing.
These are things I hardly ever buy at the grocery store.
Gurneet Dhami, a nutrition student studying in Halifax, went back home to Vaughan, Ont., to stay with her family and work on her thesis during the lockdown.
Since then, her family has started rediscovering their love of gardening — in her childhood home they had a garden and fruit trees, says Dhami. Now, they’re looking at a “blank canvas” and trying to plan a new garden.
They’re hoping to grow some staple herbs for South Asian cooking, such as coriander and mint, as well as tomatoes. Gardening has always been a way for her family to connect, says Dhami. “When you do it yourself … it’s more meaningful.”
She says it’s important to remember not everyone has the space, time or money to start a garden. She hopes people who are rediscovering their relationship with food are also thinking about those who don’t have the privilege to do so.
“This pause and this shift, we hope, is also creating more awareness of dependency on big box stores.”
DANIEL RINZLER HEALTHY GARDEN COMPANY