A food security advocate and farmer says we’re haunted by the ghost of a failed greenhouse project when it comes to food security. The Chair of the Food Producers Forum, Dan Rubin, says the failure of the Sprung Greenhouse in the late 1980s is haunting the province’s development of greenhouse infrastructure.
Rubin says there have been many mistakes made regarding the viability of greenhouses in the province due to Sprung’s failure with cucumber farming. He says he has a box of lettuce in his garden with a simple plastic covering that he will be able to harvest in February. He says we have the simple technology, but we’re “pursued by the ghost of Sprung Greenhouse.”
Rubin says he recently made connections with the provincial government for six outreach sites across the province where they would help people build greenhouses, but they were denied because of their unfavorable reputation.
In reality, he says greens like lettuce are among the easiest plants to grow.
He says you can grow them year-round as long as you heat them above zero. He says Flatrock farmer David Goodyear was able to grow lettuce all through Snowmaggedon for around $5 a month for heat.
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