News

In the land of the midnight sun, gardening is more than a weekend hobby; it's an around-the-clock obsession.

"I've been here as late as 2 a.m.," said Helga Harlander, as she toiled away in her small raised plot at Inuvik's community greenhouse.

Before moving to Inuvik for work from British Columbia three years ago, the 45-year-old had never picked up a spade. "It's kind of funny that it took me moving to the Arctic to pick up gardening."

Located 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and 70 kilometres south of the tree line, the greenhouse - a former hockey arena - is the most northern in North America and the hottest local gathering place for amateur gardeners. There's a waiting list to get in to grow everything from strawberries to red hot peppers and sunflowers.

Even though the growing season runs only from mid-May to early September, the big lure is the sunshine, and lots of it.

From June to July, the sun doesn't set and gardeners rush to grow as much as they possibly can before the days become shorter and the snow returns to this Western Arctic community of 3,700.

"Things grow terribly tall here. They just shoot up," said Ms. Harlander. "It's all that sun."

Ms. Harlander loves the end result the most. At Inuvik's two grocery stores, fresh fruit and vegetables are extremely expensive - when they are available. At the North Mart, zucchinis sell for $8.19 a kilogram and a head of iceberg lettuce is $4.29.

"If you want something, you just buy it and try not to look at the price," she said. "But when you grow it yourself, it doesn't get any fresher than that."

Lucy Kuptana began gardening at the greenhouse as a first-timer about four years ago, and now reads everything she can about her hobby.

"I love watching things grow," she said.

The 40-year-old Inuvialuit woman, who is vice-chairwoman of the Community Garden Society of Inuvik, said that when she was growing up, gardens were rare because the permafrost soil is unsuitable for most crops.

However, she remembers a few still soldiered on by diligently working the land, including a Roman Catholic priest who grew carrots, radishes and other vegetables in a small plot by the downtown church.

She said her ancestors never gardened, and instead they harvested food that was already growing in the remote region, including blueberries and cranberries.

When she is not tending her plot at the greenhouse, which is full of herbs, corn, bok choy and carrots, she is working her outdoor garden at home, where she has planted flowers, including roses.

She also learned how to compost earlier this year.

"My boys hate the smell," said the married mother of two, "but once I get good at it, it should be okay."

The greenhouse, which has become a mini-tourist attraction for the booming community, is an ideal place to grow vegetables and fruit because it is sheltered from the elements and insects, Ms. Kuptana said.

Many people grow "fast crops" such as lettuce, peas and beans - vegetables that don't require a long growing season - to get the most of out their plot every year. There are about 75 full plots (which cost $100 a year to rent), and some are tended by local organizations such as the food bank and youth centre.

Ms. Kuptana said one of the most exciting times at the greenhouse is late July, when the effects of 24-hour sunlight become most evident.

"That place looks like a jungle," she said. "It's so nice to walk in there. The fresh smell just hits you."