Iqaluit: A Community Greenhouse Update – Sybaritica

After I first wrote about the Iqaluit Community Greenhouse in mid-June, it was almost a month before the Committee decided it was safely warm to start planting. My wife is the chiefly responsible for looking after our plot (I will be mainly dealing with the harvest), but this past Saturday I volunteered to go out and do the watering so I could see how things were doing…

Well, I have to say that, on first stepping into the place the other day, I was a little disappointed in the rather poor showing after nearly four weeks growth. Things definitely seemed to be much further along this time last year. My wife says that everyone was a little bit over cautious in waiting for the right time to plant this season and that starting a couple of weeks earlier would have been just fine.

Those who obtain plots in the greenhouse are expected to grow edible produce and to weigh and record their respective yields for the records. The goal is overall weight of harvest and, as such, even growing herbs is discouraged, with flowers being more or less verboten. There are actually some flowers underway, as you can see above, but these are apparently part of a scientific research project being undertaken. It sounds quite interesting, but I have to confess that I am not really sure what the study is about.

This is the first of our plots… Sadly, like many of the others in the greenhouse, the growth is not very impressive as yet.

Our other little patch is doing much better. This one contains regular red radishes and the huge, long white variety known as Daikon. These are a high yield crop and I am quite proud to say that, last year, my wife’s daikon harvest amounted to one third of the weight of the entire greenhouse output. I fancy we will be pickling quite a bit again in a month or so…

We actually have had a little harvest already, it seems… My wife brought this little lot home a few days ago and I will use the shredded leaves in some rice for supper tonight. My wife says we will have to share the lonely little radish between us and I am hoping it won’t spoil our appetite for the main course.

Anyway, once we do get a bit of yield I will be cooking the results and sharing whatever culinary experiments I undertake with you in future posts…

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