Nain family hopes to combat food insecurity with community garden

A family in Nain is hoping to show people just what can be grown in northern Labrador in an effort to prioritize healthy food and create a new community garden. 

This year, Katie Harris and Adrian Earle harvested more than 400 pounds of potatoes, 150 baseball-sized onions, 80 pounds of carrots, as well as brussels sprouts, pumpkins, lettuce, kale, spinach, cabbage and more. 

"We should be producing a lot more food in our province," Earle said. "It's better for the planet. It's just better for everybody to grow lots of it at home."

Having a garden was something Earle always wanted to do, he said. So with the help of a Mennonite friend from Alberta, the couple started by composting for a year, then planting small amounts of root vegetables in raised beds. 

"The first year that we grew stuff. We grew beets and potatoes and we couldn't believe it," Earle said. 

The couple compost just about everything from hair, bones they have boiled down and more beyond just table scraps. Their raised beds are made from old oil drums that have been cleaned, cut and drainage holes drilled into the bottom. 

"They work really well. They're really durable," Earle said. "And it's free except for a few drill bits to drill them up and some grinder just to cut them apart which wasn't too expensive."

Having access to these foods would have made a difference when she was a child, Harris said. She hopes her own children see the impact they can have by taking action. 

"I didn't grow up going to school with cherry tomatoes," Harris said. "They'll remember that for the rest of their lives, and hopefully they will be able to carry it on with their own kids someday."

The couple started with ordering seeds and soil, and estimate they spent around $2,000 over the past five years on the garden.

Earle estimates they have saved more than $30,000 on food, given the high cost of groceries along the north coast of Labrador.

"And it's not just about saving the money," Earle said. "It's way healthier and it's just incredibly tastier."

Following their success, the couple is working to create a community garden for about five more families on the town's former hockey rink by the Nain RCMP detachment. 

The large clay space is perfect for growing produce, Earle said, adding there are details to work out, but the interest and need is there.