David and Aimée Benjestorf’s garden for Edmonton’s Food Bank
How one couple responded to Covid-19: by growing a lot of vegetables, for the first time ever, to help address food shortages.
by Mary Bailey
David Benjestorf photos
“We’ve had this piece of land for several years now. I knew I wanted to grow something, but didn’t know what,” says David Benjestorf, vice chair of Edmonton’s Food Bank.
“We knew that Alberta’s economic hardship had created record high numbers at the Food Bank in March. Then, as Covid became a reality, it became clear that Edmontonians would face significant challenges. Would we need to serve double or triple the current record numbers? Could we get value priced food? What about the border closure? Will there be healthy and fresh food choices available? What about the cancellation of most of our fundraisers?
“Then, one night we watched a show called The Biggest Little Farm. It was my aha moment. In an instant, I knew what I would do with our land: build a farm and donate most of it to the Food Bank.”
That was April 15. By May 16, David and Aimée had the garden ready to plant. The deliveries to the Food Bank started a month later with early season leafy greens and radishes.
“I had never grown anything before. I didn’t really know where to start. I started watching YouTube videos and reading every book I could find on how to be a market gardener, what grows in this zone, what to plant, how to plant,” says David. “There were a lot of good people who were happy to talk to me, like Doug and Kelly at Lady Flower Gardens. They’ve been gardening their whole lives and they put me in touch with other vegetable growers like Dieter Kuhlmann. I have been incredibly fortunate that there has been someone willing to give us an answer every time we asked. People have been really gracious with their time. It’s been fantastic.”
Along with those early lettuces and radishes, which they have replanted three times, they sowed 21 different vegetables: 137 tomato plants; two kinds of beets and carrots; three varieties of onions; Swiss chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts; three kinds of beans; two kinds of peppers; two varieties of peas; asparagus, fennel, corn, zucchini and pumpkins; flowers, some herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme, sage), garlic and potatoes, lots of potatoes.
“Lady Flower usually does acres of potatoes, but this year, due to the shortage of volunteers, they cut back. We were able to beef up our potato crop. We doubled the planting and anticipate 50,000 pounds,” says David.
They harvest Sunday evenings, then drive the bounty to the Food Bank early Monday morning. From there the vegetables go out to the 265 different agencies and soup kitchens that rely on the Food Bank (Mustard Seed, Hope Mission, YESS). “The Food Bank is uniquely positioned to take wild game and a variety of fresh produce. The Food Bank has a great relationship with the food inspectors and has food handling facilities that others don’t have,” says David.
Several of the couple’s friends and colleagues signed on to help. “We have 11 volunteers including one seasoned gardener, Cathy. Everybody is responsible for a row, though we take turns watering the whole garden. When it’s time to harvest, we all pitch in and volunteers can have as much as they want for their families and the rest goes to the food bank.”
The farm is beautiful, northwest of St. Albert backing on to the Sturgeon River, with a fenced main garden and a cluster of vegetables outside the fence, almost seven acres all told planted this season. It’s verdant and green, bursting with vitality in mid-August. “We did plant about 10,000 feet outside the fence and didn’t water or weed that. It’s amazing how similar it is, just a bit delayed compared to the garden inside the fence.”
Even the wildlife seem to know it’s a special place (there is a trail camera to catch the action when no one is there.) “We have deer, moose, coyotes, rabbits and porcupines around but no wildlife damage at all,” says David. “They do eat the weeds, so we decided that we wouldn’t spray this season, so we can leave something for the animals.”
Their focus back in May was to get everything into the ground. “I’ve never grown anything in my life,” says David, “and one thing I learned was that there is a thousand right ways to grow vegetables. I picked one, but there’s always a better way. The tomatoes for instance: I put them near the water source because I thought they need lots of water. But that made it very difficult to use row covers (for hail, or frost, or moths). Next year they will go in one long row so they can be covered easily and watered with a dedicated line.
“We had just planted the baby tomato plants when there was a frost warning. I ran to Value Village and got 50 bed sheets. Aimée and I came out in the rain and snow and mud and spent four miserable hours covering all these plants. Never again. Later that night I watched videos on how to make hoop houses from scratch. And we laid sod in some of the rows and experimented with cardboard and hay in others, to deal with the mud,” he says.
“The market gardeners say you will learn your soil like the back of your hand,” says David. “We were told our soil was very good, so we simply added compost to the raised beds. We did have potato beetles early, so we bought ladybugs to eat the larvae.
“I never thought I could get excited about a garden, but every day I come out, something is blooming, growing or transforming. Just five months ago I didn’t realize that vegetables came from the flowers. I’m sure I learned that in elementary school, but it never resonated with me until I watched the process daily with my own eyes. We had a canopy of peas climbing a six-foot trellis covering a walkway. The peas are done now and, as we march into the end of the season, I was surprised at the sadness I felt.
“With all the negativity that Covid has created, it’s nice to have this release,” says David.“You are in nature, you are growing and you are helping—it’s a tonic. You feel pretty good about yourself and what we’re accomplishing as a team.”
For more info on Lady Flower Gardens, ladyflowergardens.com.
For more info on Edmonton’s Food Bank, edmontonsfoodbank.com.