February 20, 2020
Grower: Roots and Ruminants
What they produce: Vegetable plants, bedding plants and hanging baskets
Where to buy: Roots and Ruminants Greenhouse, Fort Smith
Thanks to a greenhouse business in Fort Smith, locals can grow their own tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and even pumpkins within the NWT’s growing season. Hilary Turko, the heart and mind behind the business, Roots and Ruminants, is now entering her fourth growing season after purchasing the 30-year-old business.
Rather than selling picked produce, Turko’s focus is to provide locals with healthy, starter plants so they can grow their own food.
“Before I started the greenhouse I was one of those people growing veggies in the window in my living room and they were long and stringy,” Turko explains. “My focus with the greenhouse is to provide healthy, vibrant plants for people in Fort Smith and the surrounding communities.”
This year might be Turko’s best growing season yet. Thanks to funding through the Canadian Agriculture Partnership, a joint initiative between Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Government of Canada, Turko has been able to grow the business and most recently was able to purchase flood tables and a soil machine.
“I’m so grateful to ITI for their support. I used to spend four hours each day just watering everything, now for the most part I’ll be able to turn a tap to flood the tables and water everything. I would also spend about two weeks packing pots with soil by hand – now I’ll be able to do that in about two days with less soil and water wastage. It’s a huge help and it’ll make everything much more efficient.”
The greenhouse opens for sales after the May long weekend and everything from basil and rosemary to zucchinis and snap dragons go quickly.
“We don’t have a large farmers market like Yellowknife but we’re working towards that,” Turko explains. “We’re slowly adding a little more to the business each year without biting off more than we can chew. The people of Fort Smith have been so supportive of our business as we grow and learn.”
For Turko the move to get into the agriculture business was a positive one for her young family and the community as a whole.
“Rather than having your produce travel thousands of kilometres before it reaches you, people can now know where their food comes from. It’s fresher and you’re not limited. In some communities you may only get one type of tomato at the grocery store but when you grow them yourself you can have ten different types. The flavours are incredible.”
The bottom line, she says: “Everything tastes better when you grow it.”
In celebration of National Agriculture Day (February 11) we’re profiling some of the NWT’s local and commercial food growers. Stay tuned for more stories from our Locally Grown series and use #CdnAgDay on social media to join the conversation.