Saskatoon city vegetable farms prove you don't have to be rural to grow

An urban agriculture project bringing city-grown vegetables to Saskatoon families is proving that farming isn't just for rural residents.

• Saskatoon urban farmers use loaned backyards to grow food

Jared and Rachel Regier run the Chain Reaction Urban Farm, which consists of a number of garden plots in backyards and city boulevards.

Organic produce harvested from the plots is then delivered by bicycle to more than 20 families in Saskatoon.

Jared said the farm was set up with the long-term goal of creating a sustainable local community.

"We saw a niche in the small-scale farm setup where you can get into farming with a small investment, use basic hand tools and add value to your seeds with labour, basically, instead of investing in multimillion dollars of land and equipment," said Regier.

Pedal-powered delivery

The vegetables are delivered through a subscription-type system.

Because of the small size of the plots compared to rural farms, Jared said they were pumping as many vegetables as possible into each space.

He said one of the growing areas on the corner of 18th Street and Avenue D S. had become a community conversation-starter.

"I can't be out there for five minutes without someone stopping to visit, whether they're from the community or just stopping at the farmer's market, so we've gotten to know our neighbours a little better," said Regier.

Open house Thursday

The plot is one of six community farms that will be open to the public during the Saskatoon Urban Agriculture Open House between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday.

The following six farms are participating:

• Chain Reaction Urban Farm, corner of Avenue D S. and 18th Street
• Askiy Project, Kiscikanis Garden, across from Station 20 W. at 1120 20th Street W.
• The SFBLC Project, 900 block of Third Avenue N.
• Pleasant Hill Community Garden, 1407 20th Street W.
• Wolf Willow, corner of Avenue J S. and 17th Street W.
• Common Ground, G.D. Archibald Park N., 1802 Alexandra Avenue