SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - If you drive 15 or 20 minutes on Highway 3 out of Yellowknife, past the high rock with teddy bears sitting on a chair, and look to your left, you'll find it: Orest Watsyk's experiment.

Orest Watsyk checks his small grain crop on Highway 3. Watsyk reckons the plants will be ready for harvest soon, but as for the exact date "we'll have to watch and see." - Lauren McKeon/NNSL photo

Turn in and you'll see a small plot tucked behind a car salvage area. There, a dozen five-foot long rows of grain grow, with short wooden markers displaying names such as Blue Tinge Ethiopian Wheat, Brazilian Lavras Wheat and Arabian Blue Barley. All told, there are several types of grain – including flax, buckwheat, quinoa and the modern hybrid triticale – most Yellowknifers would never guess you could grow in North of 60 soil.

"So what made me do it? I don't know," mused Watsyk. "Curiosity. Scientific curiosity."

"A lot of people don't know you can grow grains here," he added.

Watsyk retired to Yellowknife "right around the turn of the century" after teaching for 25 years in Fort Simpson, where, among many things, he taught countless students about agriculture, grew apple trees around town, and was involved in Simpson's experimental farm.

This year's grain crop is Watsyk's second test to see how certain varieties would do in Yellowknife; he completed another smaller test with about five rows of grain last year, some of which are now in their second year.

By large, this year's attempts have been successful, despite being hit by frost earlier this spring. Only the quinoa, an ancient Andean grain, has failed.

"It's a total failure. It germinated and the plants are still alive, but they're barely an inch tall," said Watsyk.

He added the barley and flax are doing the best in the Northern soil, which had to be rolled eight times before the soil became workable.

Watsyk hasn't quite decided what he'll do with the grains once harvested, but has considered using them to make a product similar to the famed Canadian Red River Cereal or to make beer.

In addition, he plans to offer samples, which include several varieties of hull-less barley, to members of the Yellowknife community garden collective, of which Watsyk is also a member.

Indeed, he also planted a smaller number of grains, including buckwheat, at the community plot, which are faring much better thanks to a frost-free season and better soil.

But, as for other uses: "My wife likes to make barley soup."

Beyond that, "We'll see what turns the crank once the grain is harvested," he said.