Kuujjuaq keen for greenhouse-grown vegetables

Kuujjuaq’s greenhouse produced so much lettuce and basil this year that growers invited the community to help themselves. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN AVARD)

Will Kuujjuaq shoppers be able to buy locally-grown zucchini one day? As part of its Plan Nord, the Quebec government wants to develop agriculture for commercial sale across the province’s North. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN AVARD)

Although not a gardener, Kuujjuaq’s mayor recently enjoyed a locally-grown salad from his community’s greenhouse.

“It was quite nice,” Paul Parsons said. “And that was possible with the bare minimum. If we get this up and running, I think this has great potential.”

Parson’s enthusiasm for local produce also has the backing of Quebec, which wants to see more food production Nunavik.

As part of Plan Nord, launched this past May, Quebec pledged to support “the creation of a bio-food research network, which could include the construction of greenhouses and support for marketing local products.”

And that could mean commercial greenhouses in Kuujjuaq and Salluit one day.

“For now, we’re just looking at what kinds of vegetables grow well and how long the growing season is,” said Yvon Forêt of Quebec’s department of agriculture, fisheries and food. “That will impact the kind of technology to use.”

Under Plan Nord, roughly $500,000 is set aside to help support bio-food projects across the North, although no money has been allotted to Nunavik’s projects just yet.

In Kuujjuaq, the focus remains on its small greenhouse, which was built on the outskirts of town in the 1990s by Laval University to conduct a research projecr

When that project ended, the greenhouse was turned over the town.

Now people in Kuujjuaq can use the greenhouse’s indoor garden plots free-of-charge to grow their own crops during the summer months.

While Plan Nord’s commercial greenhouse scheme could an economic boost to Nunavik and, at the same time, provide locally-grown goods for sale, Kuujjuaq should stay focussed on establishing a community-based, non-profit greenhouse as a first step, suggests Laval researcher Ellen Avard.

This year, local gardeners are harvesting spinach, radishes, herbs, bok choi, peas, tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis, and so much lettuce they’ve been giving it away.

Interest in expanding the greenhouse is also growing, with talks on its future involving the province, Makivik Corp. and the Kativik Regional Government.

The KRG’s department of Research and Economic Development has provided some money to the local greenhouse project, which has helped pay for repairs to the community’s existing greenhouse and order some new equipment.

And local gardeners, with help from the municipality, installed new plumbing and repaired a vent in the roof to control the structure’s temperature.

“We’re hoping to provide an area where people can do their own gardening with local expertise at hand,” said Parsons. “Not everyone in the North knows how to plant a garden.”

Kuujjuaq also wants to see a larger greenhouse, naming the community’s old pool as a potential new greenhouse site, he said.

Someday, he’s like to see school groups coming to tend to their own plots.

As the greenhouse develops into something more than just a place to plant vegetables, people in Kuujjuaq can expect to see spin-offs, too, such as a this summe’s composting project.

Kuujjuaq’s two stores have been donating their organic waste to that project for the last six weeks, which greenhouse volunteers collect and turn weekly in hopes of creating fertile soil while at the same time keeping waste from the town dump.

Another spin-off: Kuujjuaq’s supervised living residence for men and women with mental health issues will soon begin “horticultural therapy,” planting their own indoor potted garden in front of the residence’s large windows.

“There are healthy benefits for the community,” Parsons said.

Should the greenhouse project grow to the point that it supplies local stores with lettuce, Parsons said that’s “great.”

Kuujjuaq’s greenhouse users plan to hold a meeting this month to create a formal committee to direct its future.

And, at the provincial level, the creation of a “Northern Quebec bio-foods network” working group is in the works, which will include Inuit and Cree members.