Wendy and Kelly Noel were picking out lettuce and tomato seeds at Gardenworks’ Oak Bay store on Wednesday.
It’s something the mother-daughter duo does every spring. Wendy has a greenhouse and backyard garden, and Kelly a small plot, and the produce they grow gives them healthy salads and other meals through the growing season.
“If I could grow it all I would,” said Wendy. “But there’s only so much energy and time.”
Both say gardening is their small way of offsetting rising inflation and more recent uncertainty about how we’re getting our food.
Food security has long been a concern on Vancouver Island, where the food supply for nearly one million people depends on boats and barges, and a limited 72-hour supply should we be cut off during a disaster.
That was accentuated during the pandemic when supply chains weakened, creating a boom in home gardening. It’s coming to the fore again as a trade war with the United States raises fresh questions about where we get our produce and at what cost.
Plant wholesalers and retailers are already seeing a rush for seedlings as do-it-yourselfers look for ways to maximize their backyard yields or find new garden space.
The 30-plus community gardens in the capital region have long waiting lists, and many aren’t taking new names because the turnover is nearly nil.
As one garden organizer said: “A person has to move, become disabled or pass away before an opening comes up.”
Cindy Moyer of the ReImagine West Shore Community Society, which advocates for local food production, said concerns about food are real and justified. “If we can find ways put a few pots on your balcony if you are living in a condo or another spot on your property … you can grow amazing things in small spaces.”
Moyer said the U.S. trade war has added extra urgency for those who were already worried about the cost of food and the need for more nutritious food. “It’s empowering to take some control over what’s going on during a time that sometimes feels out of control.”
Jesse Brown, owner of Mason Street Farm and Edible Nursery in Victoria’s North Park neighbourhood — which opens Saturday for the season with a starter plant sale — said people may be surprised what they can grow in smaller plots and how much some of the crops can yield.
He said a half century ago, people on Vancouver Island were growing half their produce. Now it’s below 10 per cent. “It would be helpful to get back to growing our own food, for both our mental and physical health — and for our pocketbooks.”
With the demand for community garden allotments so strong, a plan is taking shape in the Blenkinsop Valley in Saanich to open more space for gardeners.
Lee Smith and John Espley have acquired a 14-acre parcel for hundreds of new plots ranging in size from five-foot by 10-foot to one-eighth, one-quarter and half-acre chunks. Yearly rentals range from $125 to $3,200 and leases are quickly being signed, Espley said Wednesday.
He said the partners have so far carved out 470 small plots and are mapping out the larger ones. Crews are on site installing piping for irrigation. The land, long held by the Lim family, was previously rented to a commercial farmer for corn crops. Espley said their vision will create a greater variety of food for small growers.
He said the response has been overwhelming. “I’ve had calls from other communities in B.C. asking: ‘How do we do this?’ ” Espley said. “One of our goals was to create something we could help others replicate — here’s how you can use private [agricultural] land and change the production model, change how it’s going to connect with the community.”
He said only about 10 per cent of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve on the Island is actually used to produce food.
“We’re losing touch with agriculture,” Espley said. “People think food, they think grocery store. They’re forgetting where it comes from, so our goal is for people to learn how to grow, to have education programs and creating an experience for people with a lot of experience to connect with people who have never done this before.”
Espley said with municipalities pushing density and more people living in small spaces, allotment gardens are essential.
His company is talking with strata groups about renting plots to residents, he said. The goal with the larger plots is to train future farmers, who can start out small and learn, and then go on to land-matching programs that connect land-owners and young agrarians.
Tayler Krawczyk, with partner Solara Goldwynn, owns Hatchet & Seed, which has been building gardens and greenhouses for 14 years in Greater Victoria.
He said the trend to create more garden space started during the pandemic and he expects it to continue.
In one of the company’s projects at Royal Roads, a half-acre lawn within a walled garden was converted into a food garden producing vegetables and fruits.
Krawczyk said anyone can turn their lawn or a corner of the yard into a productive garden. “We heard it called nook-and-cranny gardening, finding a way,” he said.
A spokesperson for the City of Victoria said the rise in demand for garden allotments spiked in 2020.
“It’s too soon to see if there’s another big uptick related to the tariffs, but we do hear from community gardeners the cost of food is often a motivator for them to participate,” said a statement from the city.
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