Like many Canadians, Natasha Nash is striving to buy local produce, but finding homegrown options like broccoli and celery has been a challenge at grocery stores.
“If I’m going to the grocery store and I see a head of broccoli is coming from a U.S. farm, I just don’t buy it,” Nash said.
Determined to reduce dependence on foreign produce, Nash has joined a growing number of Ottawans cultivating their own fruits and vegetables.
Local seed suppliers confirm a surge in sales, suggesting that more residents are turning to home gardening as a response to Canada’s ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. Manish Kushwaha, owner of Gaia Organic Seeds in Riverside South, noted an unusual boom in orders this March, particularly for vegetables commonly imported from California, such as tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers.
Robert Plante Greenhouses in east Ottawa has also experienced a spike in seed sales. General manager Colin Matassa said customers have cited trade tariffs as a key reason for growing their own food.
While Kushwaha hesitates to attribute the rise solely to trade policies, he observed an extreme surge in sales after March 4, the date when U.S. tariffs took effect.
Nash, who gardens on her property outside Carleton Place, Ont., is expanding her efforts to include celery, strawberries, raspberries, asparagus, and beans—crops she once bought from U.S. farms. She plans to preserve excess produce for winter, a practice she previously didn’t prioritize.
“It feels more necessary than it did previously,” Nash said. “It’s important for us to know where our food is coming from, but also know how to sustain ourselves should it be needed.”
Source: Swifteradio.com
