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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After months of waiting, residents of Yellowknife are finally able to buy fresh homegrown produce from the Farmer's Market.

Thea Campbell shows off a couple of bags of lettuce that she had for sale during the Farmer's Market on Tuesday evening. Locally grown fresh produce is in high demand and can command a high price, but most people agree it's worth it. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

For just the second time this summer, there were at least five vendors selling fresh produce - consisting mostly of leafy greens - during the city's increasingly-popular event on Tuesday evening.

"I'm not a gardener myself, so that's why I come out here," said Catherine Siegbahn, who was at the market for the second time. "I want to buy local produce. I want to come and buy stuff that people grow because I think it's an amazing thing we have here in Yellowknife."

Siegbahn bought a bag of Swiss chard, an item she would not normally buy from the supermarket, which she plans to put in either a salad or a quiche.

"I would normally buy mixed greens, but this time I wanted to do something different," said Siegbahn.

Although fresh produce grown in Yellowknife is in high demand, it also comes at a price.

On Tuesday, gardener and vendor Jacob Kess was selling medium-sized bags of lettuce greens for $6, bunches of onions for $5, and bags of Swiss chard for $4, more than what you would pay for the equivalent amount of food at a supermarket.

However, if Kess' sales are any indication, customers do not seem put off by the prices. Just half-way through the market, he only had two bags of lettuce left for sale.

"I think most people are just grateful that they can get something that was grown locally, and that's really fresh," said Kess.

"You know what? This is local. This is actually grown by people who are from here and I would say for the most part it's organic, so it's worth it for me," added Siegbahn.

Although the market officially opened on June 7, fresh produce has been scarce due to the long winters and unpredictable weather that are a fact of life for the Northern green thumb.

"The weather has been pretty funny. Most plants seem to be doing OK, but some are not so happy," said Kess.

"I've been lucky. I've got a good spot with lots of sun," said Kess of the 400 sq. foot garden in his backyard.

Aside from the short growing season, one of the difficulties facing vendors is determining demand. While one of the benefits of homegrown produce is that it is fresh, it also tends to have a shorter shelf life than industrially grown crops.

"Today was my first harvest, so I didn't really know how much to pick," said gardener and vendor, Thea Campbell, who shares a half-acre plot in Kam Lake with Yellowknife Commons Co-operative founder Amy Lizotte.

The plot was donated to Lizotte and Campbell to grow produce for sale at the market on the premises. They donate a portion of their fresh produce to the 97-year-old owner of the land.

In order to help encourage more people to sell produce at the Farmer's Market in the future, the Yellowknife Commons Co-operative, which runs the market, plans to start limiting the number of vendors that are not selling homegrown fruits and vegetables.

The Co-operative also hopes to co-ordinate with vendors ahead of time to determine what they plan to sell and advertise it to the public ahead of time.

"We're going to help highlight what produce we have each week through social media networks like Facebook," said co-operative communications representative Dave Zethof.

Based on this week's sales, Kess plans to bring more food next week. In the coming weeks, he also hopes to sell carrots, tomatoes and other larger vegetables, which take longer to grow than basic greens.

However, even though his crops can command a high return, Kess says he is unlikely to put his profit margins ahead of his appetite.

"I'll probably keep the first crop for myself. I'm not going to sell the first one that comes out," he said.

"But if they do well, I will have some for sale at the farmer's market."

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