Alberta’s harvest is rolling in. September is one of the busiest times of the year for farmers—they will combine millions of tonnes of canola, wheat, barley, and oats before the weather turns.
Agriculture plays a key role in Alberta’s economy, however, harvest season is also a reminder that Alberta grows much of its food to feed other countries, and that most of the food the province eats is imported.
In recent years, Alberta has exported more and more of its food products, primarily to the United States, China, and Japan. In 2021, 60 per cent of all its food products were sent to other countries.
Conversely, the province imports around 60 per cent of vegetables and 80 per cent of fruit consumed by Albertans, much of this from the United States.
The global food trade comes with many benefits. Ten years ago, it was impossible to find fresh strawberries in December, but now even in the off-season Albertans can purchase a wide variety of berries imported from California and other regions. Imported foods give Albertans the ability to eat a wider variety of foods, and to not rely on the seasons to buy the ingredients they want.
However, recent relations with the United States have highlighted the fragile nature of Alberta’s food industry. US tariffs have raised fears about increases in food prices, and many are talking about the need to rely less on trade with the US.
Food-Sovereign gardening
Canada needs bold policy solutions to address its reliance on the US for food. This can leave the average person feeling powerless, as these overarching solutions have not yet arrived.
Still, some Albertans are finding ways to increase their own self-reliance in the face of instability. For Anne Prins, growing her own food is one way she can become more independent in today’s world.
Last year Prins moved with her family to Medicine Hat, the sunniest place in Canada. She’d spent years learning to grow all her own vegetables on her former property in coastal BC, and was keen to transplant her way of life to the arid ground of southern Alberta.
“I’ve found I can grow so many more things now than I thought I could five or ten years ago,” she said in an interview with TheRockies.Life. Legumes such as kidney and black beans are at the top of her list of discoveries, as they’re a huge source of protein and easier to grow and dry than she expected.
She makes her own seasoning blends, and dries zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, peas, beans, and other vegetables so she has enough to last her through the winter.
Resilience and pests
Gardening in the grasslands of Medicine Hat has been a process of trial and error for Prins.
Not everything went according to plan. She’s faced new diseases and pests. Blister beetles took out her beets, and flea beetles ate through her arugula and fall kale. Next year, she plans to cover these crops with mesh to keep the pests out.
The crops that do work out tend to produce in large quantities.
“I’ve become fairly good at using what we have and if we have a lot of one thing, well we eat it a lot,” she said.
Still, some crop successes have come as a surprise to her. In BC, she struggled to grow potatoes.
“It was always a battle,” she said. “Here we’re on miserable clay soil. I just put on a thin layer of compost and top soil and we just threw the potatoes in the ground. I got the most beautiful potatoes.”
Recommendations to first-time gardeners
Recently, Prins started teaching people in her new community how to garden and maintain healthy soil full of nutrients.
“I bring people in here and we chat about what sustainable gardening looks like, how to compost, how to do no-dig gardening, how to layer the soil, how to use horse manure, that kind of thing,” she said.
She has several tips for first-time gardeners.
Firstly, not all crops take a significant amount of room to grow. Prins grows microgreens year-round in her kitchen.
For those that have space in their backyard, she instructs them to look into no-dig gardening. This method creates richer soil by layering compost and other organic matter, and requires less manual labour. “That is how you’re going to get the least effort and the best vegetables over time.”
She also said new gardeners should go for crops that have a quick turnaround time. “Don’t try to grow something that takes six months to harvest because you might get frustrated. If you grow something that has a 40-day turnaround, you’ll be much happier.”
Prins noted that setting up her new garden “was a pile of work.” She’s hoping that next year will be less labour-intensive as she won’t have to build garden beds and she has a better understanding of what pests and problems she faces.
Do what you can
Alberta needs better solutions to its food issues. More Albertans than ever are going hungry, and the province’s reliance on trade leaves food supplies to the mercy of global politics.
Gardening is one way people can contribute to food security in the face of political and economic instability.
Even a small act like growing microgreens on one’s counter or talking with neighbours who grow their own food can be enough to regain this power.
