With the May long weekend, it’s usually the official start of gardening season.
The owner of a Saskatoon garden centre said the one of the reasons why is that spring or nighttime temperatures are generally staying above 5 C.
“It kind of marks that nighttime temperature being above five degrees and that’s what we’re seeing in the long term forecast too,” said Jill Van Duyvendyk, Dutch Growers Saskatoon owner.
“It looks like after this weekend, gather your plants (and) you should be good to plant.”
As grocery prices continue to rise, more people are testing their green thumbs to access food. Van Duyvendyk said food security is definitely a topic of concern for many people.
“We’re finding a little bit more of a trend,” she said. “Actually, the last five years, more people (are) putting spots, putting raised beds, putting containers, and growing their own food.”
Gardening comes natural for Rosemary Wasylyshyn who grew up on a farm and said that producing her own food is part of her culture.
“Spring is my favourite time. It makes me feel good, makes me feel happy and I love to see plants growing and producing,” said Wasylyshyn.
Jason Childs, an economics professor at the University of Regina, said over the past couple of years, there have been dramatic movements in food prices.
“During the height of inflation, we’re seeing a lot of that inflation being led by food prices,” said Childs. “That forced people to change what they buy at the grocery store … We’ve seen this historically in just about every recession, you see an uptick in gardening.”
Green thumbs understand that growing a garden takes a significant time investment, but the benefits definitely outweigh the costs.
— with files from Gates Guarin
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