The Real Dirt
A few years ago, a neighbour told me my garden needed to be amended with some dirt. He was referring to the stereotypical black soil […]
Taking The Long View
Eating seasonally teaches long-term thinking I love watching tomato seedlings poke their tiny shoots out of the soil, eagerly seeking sunlight — or UV light
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Spring Sprouts
“Spring has sprung,” cries my body as it soaks up the sun streaming through my window at two o’clock on a glorious March afternoon. It
A Frozen Pipe Dream
I went to Vancouver a few weeks ago. I wasn’t looking forward to trading sunny skies for rainy ones — although the temperatures were going
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Food Talks Explore Complex Relationships
Recently, there’s been more focus on our food — what is in it, and where it comes from. Living in the North, securing a steady
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Lichen, anyone?
I delight in winter travel, especially once the snow pack has settled. It’s early this year, and I’m already able to break away from the
Homemade Seed Tapes
Winter can be frustrating for gardeners. There are days when it feels like spring won’t get here soon enough. Combine this with the knowledge that
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Food Security
Winter; a season many people dread. The extra work of shovelling snow, the layers of clothing, the cold temperatures, and even the shorter daylight hours
A Quiet Yukon Christmas
Twas the week before Christmas and all through the farm. Not a chicken was stirring, they’re all in the barn. All summer they roam, but
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A Chicken and Egg Story
Last year our chickens stopped laying eggs. For the first time in a decade we had to buy eggs instead of selling them. The egg
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Living on Farmer Time
I have always wondered why we need to adjust our clocks for daylight saving time here in the land of the Midnight Sun. It was
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Winter Gardening
Years ago I was asked by a Japanese helper what kinds of plants grew here in the winter. I laughed and said nothing grows, it
Edible Yukon: Fish Heads, Fish Heads…
As I walked about the property over the last few weeks, I found myself on the lookout for things that I don’t want to find
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Just Exactly How Big is Big
It’s going to be all antlers, horns, and skulls for hours on end next Saturday at the Big Bull Night. From 5 p.m. until way
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The Joy of Homegrown Tomatoes
Nothing tastes quite as good as a garden fresh tomato. Here in the North these are rare enough to find, but this past summer we
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Talking Turkey
Explore the fascinating story of the Thanksgiving Turkey, from wild origins to the modern breeds raised for the holiday.
Edible Yukon:Hip to the Lingo
Harvesting in the wild often puts me into a contemplative state. Perhaps it is the repetitive action of the hands – the eyes moving slightly
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To Frost or Not To Frost
With the beauty of the fall colours comes an increase in the ever-present danger of frost. For some, this is evidence of a balance between
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Yukon Harvest Time
I can’t believe it’s almost over. This summer was one of the best on record as far as gardening goes. We always had lots of
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Friends with Benefits
It’s easy to remember the three kinds of symbiosis if you apply them to your past relationships. Parasitism is where one species benefits and the
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Edible Yukon: The Pearl Fishers
Golfers, fighter pilots and magicians all share two honours: being featured prominently in the half dozen VHS tapes we owned when I was a kid,
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Food Forest: Those Aren’t Weeds
Growing a vegetable garden can be an emotional rollercoaster. This gorgeous summer we just enjoyed was good for the veggies, but it was also perfect
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Helpers Extraordinaire
A few weeks ago I met a guy from Ontario who asked if it would be possible to help out at the farm. Of course
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Edible Yukon: Harvesting Joy
In June I patiently await each new plant that emerges from the forest floor along my daily walks. In July, I feast my eyes on
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Wild Berry Picking In Your Own Backyard
Late summer and early autumn is berry-picking time across the Yukon. Low- and high-bush cranberries, soapberries, Saskatoon berries, blueberries, strawberries, cloudberries and raspberries are each
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Growing a Community
It’s been a good season for growing vegetables in downtown Whitehorse. Gardeners at the Whitehorse Community Garden celebrated their bounty last Wednesday with a potluck
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Barnyard Politics: Establishing a pecking order
Recently we noticed some of the turkeys had bloody wings and were being picked on by the others. Often if turkeys don’t have enough feed
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Edible Yukon: Fishing for Moments
Aspiring fisherpersons soon learn that catching and eating are only two of many landmarks in the journey of fishing. While I see fishing as a
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A Charming Guide Down Nature’s Path
Beverley Gray knows plants. They’ve intrigued her since early childhood and she has since accomplished a lot in the name of greenery. Gray opened her
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Edible Yukon: Feast of Flower
Have you ever been transfixed by northern lights soaring in shimmering skirts of greens and blues? Watched mountain peaks glowing in the sun’s last rays?
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Seeking the perfect tomato for Northern summers
My grandfather’s backyard was a gardener’s dream. Flat as a postage stamp, with deep, rich soil and daylong exposure to intense southwestern Ontario sunshine. My
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Where are the Bees?
With summer comes the sound of songbirds and the hum of insects. Often insects are seen as nuisances — pests that need bug dope to
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Puffballs, Boletes, Meadow Mushrooms, Oh My!
Contrary to popular belief, mushroom hunting does not have the risk factor of Russian roulette. In fact, with a little knowledge and some common sense,
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Solitude Begins at the Path to Nowhere
Silence. Not a really awkward silence, not like when you feel you’re going to implode if you don’t say something to fill the void. No,
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PHantastic Soil
It is a good idea to find out a bit about your garden before planting anything in it. What will grow in a plot of
The Wild Abundance of Food
It’s only recently that most people have forgotten how to forage for food. For thousands of years, First Nations communities across Canada lived on food
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Better Late than Never: How planting in the Yukon can be a challenge.
The peas were up before we finished planting the garden this year. We like to plant most of our seeds as soon as we can
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Taking a Look Your Soil’s Fertility
I’m a transplant.I recently moved to Dawson City from Whitehorse, and I recently moved to Whitehorse from my birthplace in Ontario. In Ontario, I worked
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Dreams Achieved: The Fireweed Market is back
When we first moved to the Yukon 16 years ago I told my family that if I would like to have a market garden. The
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Venturing into the Unknown
All good things must come to an end and two days ago this was true for our piglets. It’s been eight weeks since they were
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Spring Means New Life
There are pussy willows, crocuses and chives growing in the garden. Migrating birds are returning to Swan Haven and mallards are swimming in the ditch
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Fly Brooch Pin
To create a brooch pin, I have chosen a fly that has worked very well for me on Pacific salmon in Alaska. This Black Laced
Our Egg Situation
My husband Allan got a goose egg last night. He wasn’t hurt as some may suspect, rather he found an actual egg out in the
Fish & Game banquet offers a taste
The chef at the High Country Inn is getting very excited. It is time, once again, for the Yukon Fish and Game Association’s Banquet, Award
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Making Culinary Art from Local Trees
You know that thing that happens when you taste something and it is so delicious that the experience goes beyond just eating something to this
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Growing a Sense of Community
Many Whitehorse gardeners are planning to grow an extra row of vegetables to donate to the food bank this year. Whitehorse is one of the
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Head Starts and Crop Rotations
In early spring it is very hard not to dream of the summer growing season. Gardeners who want an early start often start plants indoors.
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Tiny Little Pieces of Life
I got my seeds today! Seeds … tiny little pieces of life, stored until spring arrives to awaken them. It is this miraculous life that
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Deep in Snow and Going to Seed
When we moved to Whitehorse, from Saskatchewan, I had been led to believe that gardening here was next to impossible. Then I visited Yukon Gardens
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‘Honk, Peep (Oink?) or Gobble’ If You Love Spring!
Spring has finally sprung. The arrival of spring also brings with it new joys of farming – not just in the garden, but also in
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Gardening: It’s About Knowing Where and When
Can you smell it? … fresh-tilled dirt. There is nothing like it to a gardener or farmer. It is one of my favourite smells of
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The waiting is the hardest part
I don’t really like waiting but as a farmer there are some things you have to wait for. Like seeds to sprout or crops to
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Dig Those Diggin’ Pigs
They don’t dig like dogs, with their front feet, but with their noses. It is unbelievable how strong their nose muscles are. They can even
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What’s ‘Up’ in the Garden
They’re up … radishes and swiss chard that were planted only a week ago are now pushing up through the soil. The radishes looked like
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Sharing the Yukon With Seven Sled Dogs
Being an exchange student in the Yukon is fantastic! When I arrived in August 2008, I had read lots about the Territory and its nature.
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Alluring Spring Lilacs
Who can resist the fresh spring fragrance of a flowering lilac? For many gardeners, the lilac is an all-time favourite; the first spring blooms are
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Gifts That Keep Giving
Trees are gifts that truly keep on giving. They increase oxygen in the air, absorb carbons, recycle moisture into the atmosphere, filter harmful pollutants, prevent
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Ploughing for Parsnips (and Other Root Crops)
With the snow finally gone, a gardener’s mind turns to working the soil. But, to work it too soon could leave it in unwieldy clumps,
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Drying Turkey (with a Hair Dryer)
We just got more baby chicks and turkey poults. They are one day old when we get them and not much bigger than the egg
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The Joy of Weeding
Well it seems that summer is here. The heat that we have been getting has been a bonus for the garden. Everything is up, even
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To Market, To Market …
I usually plant more vegetables than I am going to personally use because I like to attend the farmers’ markets in Whitehorse. It started out
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Growing Fresh Air’ with Houseplants
Many people enjoy indoor tropical plants because of their natural aesthetic appeal and comfort qualities. It is also believed that surrounding office workers with healthy
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Unwelcome Guests at Butchering Time
It’s chicken-butchering time again … This is a part of farming that is definitely hard work. It starts a day or so before the actual
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Growing Sweet Trees in the North
After a great deal of research, the University of Saskatchewan has developed cherry trees that are cold tolerant to -45. Ingrid Wilcox describes several of these varieties, the best known and most successful of which is the Evans Cherry Tree.
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A ‘Berry’ Wonderful Time of Year
Well, we are nearing the end of summer and, while no one wants summer to end, there are benefits at this time of year …
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Give Peas a Chance!
This year we have been having record temperatures. With the heat, some plants start start to bolt to seed. My spinach has done this and
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Geraniums to enjoy … and then keep
With frost nipping at our gardens, if it hasn’t already nipped in your area, I’ve been asked numerous times on the proper way to overwinter
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Unearthing Harvest Treasure
It’s fall. I know that no one wants it to be fall, but it is hard to deny. With every season, there are vegetables that
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Enjoying Flowers in and out of Season
The growing season is winding down, but that does not mean that gardeners need to be deprived of the pleasure of gardening. Fall flower bulbs
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Herbal Flavour Well-Preserved
With harvest in full swing, I am often asked for suggested uses of herbs other than drying or freezing. To enjoy your herbal harvest year-round,
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A Good Summer, Starts in the Fall
From all reports, this year has been one of the better growing seasons. However, if your green thumb is still itching to do some gardening,
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How to Beat ‘Jack’ at His Frosty Game
It was cold this morning, zero according to the thermometer. In most places there have been frosts already, but we haven’t really had any until
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A Gaggle of Geese
In the fall, wild geese migrate south. But domestic geese are bred for meat, so they are almost too heavy to lift off the ground
Celebrate the Best of Fall with Ghoulish Fun
What could be more fun this fall than hosting a Halloween party to remember? Celebrate this holiday by gathering together family and friends for an
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Celebrate the Season
Thanksgiving celebrates the best of qualities in a holiday: family, festivities and great food. This holiday season, take time to decorate your home using a
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News from the Barnyard
With winter finally here, the farming workload seems to lighten. Winter is a time of rest and contemplation. It is also a time to recuperate
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Harvest is About More Than Vegetables
With the market over and the garden harvested, you would think that there isn’t much to do on the farm. And you would be partially
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Enjoy the Seasonal Scent of Paperwhite Narcissus
One of my favourite fall projects is planting containers of paperwhite narcissus bulbs. Known for their exquisite beauty and incredible fragrance, popular paperwhites are especially
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Sunny Side Up? Over Easy? Egg-cellent!
About six months after we purchased our farm, we decided we needed to start raising chickens. This decision came about when, about a week after
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The Signs Point to Spring
The pussy willows are out! Willows are one of the first plants to show any signs of life in the spring. Even with mounds of
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The First Sign of Spring Arrives in the Mail
Spring starts when seed catalogues arrive. At least it does for me. I receive about four or five every year. This doesn’t include the online
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The ‘Love Apple’ Needs Love
With the snow so deep, it seems impossible that spring will ever arrive. Gardeners, however, take things into their own hands and start seedlings in
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Manure Tea and Mud
One of the main spring tasks is to clean out the barn. On our barn we have two four-foot doors at each end to help
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Cool-Weather Container Combos
Like most gardeners, I await the first planting of my outdoor urns and containers with anxious anticipation. For early season plantscaping, I look for unique
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Gardening is About Community
”Gardening is about community” is part of a phrase that caught my eye in an e-mail I received today. And I agree. I didn’t learn
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A Good Garden Starts From the Ground Up
With spring just around the corner, even some non-gardeners are planning on planting a garden. I am thinking specifically of my niece, Shauna, who for
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Where the Chickens Roam
With the warmer weather we have been having, my thoughts turn to spring. I am wondering if this year I will be able to get
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Plants Are Popping Up Everywhere
It’s up! In my garden there are all sorts of little sprouting plants, most of which we planted. This year we were able to get
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Fall’s Bittersweet Song
Fall is a bittersweet season. The mountainside is absolutely glorious with the sun shining off the golds and reds. The days are still warm enough
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Shredding the Trees is Within Her Comfort Zone
I tend to mow the grass around the barn areas as green feed for all of the animals. This not only gives them the greens
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A Pre-Harvest Harvest
Whenever the beginning of August rolls around, I think more of harvesting the fruits of my gardening than the actual gardening. And harvesting has been
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Everything Has Its Season
The garden is just buzzing these days. I noticed a lot of bees while I was pulling up the radishes that had bolted. Even after
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Easy Outdoor Summer Entertaining
There is something very special to be said for enjoying a summer evening of dining outdoors. Nature brings its own relaxing effect: the grass between
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Kali and Sienna Would Rather Dig Holes
Kali and Sienna are home. They have been for about a week now, and it is very nice to have them back. When I mentioned
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Get Your Greenhouse Ready
Hey, Yukon! It’s gardening time! Time to get that greenhouse ready! If your greenhouse has a supplementary heating system, chances are you’ve already begun planting,
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Meeting Chicks at the Watering Hole
One of my favourite parts of spring is when we get our chicks. It doesn’t seem to matter how often we have gotten them in
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Greening Up With Natural Lawn Care
Having a green lawn is a highlight for gardeners during the spring and summer seasons. How we care for our outdoor green spaces can make
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Dig the Taste
One of the best types of vegetables to grow in the Yukon are root crops. Most root crops can take late frosts in the spring,
Is it Really Greener on the Other Side?
The grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence. When living in the north, it is easy to look at how things
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A passion for piglets
Last spring, we took both Kali and Sienna to visit Boris, the boar. So this fall we were waiting with bated breath for them to
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