Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

FOOD SECURITY IN KAMLOOPS

Demand high for edible plants as gardening popularity grows in Kamloops

Apr 7, 2022 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — The weather is slowly warming up in Kamloops and residents in the area are starting to prepare for spring planting.

It’s a little early for some plants to get into the ground, but Joe Ollek of Ollek Nurseries says so far it appears plenty of people who picked up gardening in the early days of the pandemic have turned it in to the long-term hobby.

“Like I say, all our regular customers — they all come back, and we’re getting phone calls every day, asking when we’re opening and all of that,” says Ollek. Ollek Nurseries is located in the Knutsford area of Kamloops and the family-run plant nursery has been busy preparing for another spring planting season.

“We’re on schedule for everything, so hopefully we’ll have a busy year now.”

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Ollek has had to navigate supply delays but orders have been rolling in, and the Ollek greenhouses are full of hanging baskets, flower flats, vegetables and more.

“Mostly flowers and then the vegetables. Vegetables are a big thing,” Ollek notes. “People are getting in to that.”

Art Knapp Garden Centre also had to work around supply issues and owner Maury Hik says they’ve been growing more plants locally to mitigate potential delays.

“Just like consumers, we’re becoming more self reliant as well,” says Hik. “And that’s why gardening is just so popular right now, because everybody wants to be self reliant. And so we’ve done the same thing to mitigate the impact that all the shipping and all of that has to do with everything — but we’re doing good.”

Edible plants are especially popular this season. Hik figures rising grocery costs and other world events have inspired people to grow more food.

“There’s a lot of fruit trees going out, lot of small fruit — strawberries, those type of things,” he says. “And then now we’re just getting into the cold crops, all the lettuces, broccolis, those type of things. All the things that kids don’t like to eat are really starting to go.”

2020 saw a recreation and gardening boom, with similar demand in 2021, and just a few weeks in to the spring season, 2022 is looking promising.

“There’s a lot a new gardeners, or second year gardeners or I would call them COVID-gardeners who have come back.” adds Hik. “They’re learning more, their green thumbs are getting bigger and bigger definitely. But that’s kind of exciting for me as well.”