Issue: 2015-04-16 PHOTO: Molly MacDonald and Debi Wickham
One of the four locations the women use to urban farm
In the spring of 2014, Dawsonites Molly MacDonald and Debi Wickham started Nomad Market Gardens. They call it an urban, multi-site farm committed to providing Dawson City with high quality, sustainably-grown vegetables. What’s different is that they decided to run the gardens according to the Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) model.
CSA is an alternative, locallybased economic model of agriculture and food distribution. Consumers buy shares in the farm up front and share the risks and benefi ts of food production with the farmers. Once harvesting begins, consumers receive shares of the produce.
MacDonald, a part-time worker at the Dawson Medical Clinic, and Wickham, a mother of twins, have always had a passion for growing things. “We knew we wanted to be farmers and wanted a partnership,” says Wickham, who already shares a landscaping contract with MacDonald. “We wanted to do something, but we just had to figure out what.”
As neither woman owns farmland, they decided to follow an urban farming model, which incorporates intensive growing on small plots of land. They saw an advertisement posted by a local family who were offering their un-used garden to anyone who wanted to grow. “That was the first step,” says Wickham.
The women then started asking around to see if there were any more unused plots in town that they could farm. They now grow on four different sites in the area — three back yards equaling 1200 square feet of land, plus a 16’ by 20’ greenhouse. They chose a mixed greens crop, such as kale and mustard greens, in order to fi ll a niche that they noticed was empty — a salad club. “Salad grows quickly and often,” says Wickham. “That makes a small plot more efficient.”
Wickham goes on to say that salad is also a high turnover crop. “And it can be a higher end crop too — we offer a nice mixture of specialty greens.” MacDonald and Wickham grow 20 different types of greens without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. They cut about 20 to 40 pounds per week using only hand tools. Every leaf is carefully selected, washed twice, spun dry and packaged in half pound bags. Customers then pick up their produce every Tuesday or Thursday during the growing season.
Stefanie Cleland, one of the 25 clients that signed up for the salad club last year, says she had never used a program like that before but was excited to give it a try. “Supporting local is important to me,” she wrote in an email. “My family enjoyed the wonderful fresh greens every week, but we also loved the adventure of remembering to pick them up.” She also says that paying in advance for the year was the part she really enjoyed. “Each week the salad sort of felt like a gift.”
Once the 16-week season was over, MacDonald and Wickham reviewed their efforts. They say they have nailed down what worked and will work even harder this year, even though fi nding a balance between busy lives and a new business is challenging for both women. “Cellphones are a boon when trying to coordinate jobs, kids, and farming,” says MacDonald with a smile.
They have managed to retain 70 per cent of their original clients and are almost sold out of the rest of their shares. Both women emphasize their appreciation of the local support they have received for their business. “It’s a real community effort,” says Wickham. “People have offered us their back yards; growing on unused land around town feels good.” “The community shared model has been supported and embraced by local businesses and the community,” adds MacDonald. “It’s a model that makes sense for Dawson.”
For more information, please contact nomadmarketgardens@ gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.