Located less than 125 miles from the Arctic Circle lies the tiny town of Inuvik. Home to extreme winter temperatures, month-long periods of darkness and 56 days of unsetting sun per year, Inuvik is perhaps the last place you’d think of when it comes to farming. And yet, in a town plastered with polar bear warnings, plant life blossoms. From broccoli to rhubarb to cabbage, the offerings of Earth’s bosom are limited only by man’s imagination — and the lengthy darkness of a Northern winter. With an operating season spanning from late March into September, locals join together to watch fragile shoots take root at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. Previously a hockey rink, this indoor growing facility provides the community with the vital nutrients found in fresh vegetation, as well as the opportunity to experience the decidedly more “southern” pastime of gardening. Even farther north, in the Arctic circle itself, a young researcher grew kale this past July. For the local Inuit, both seeing the vegetation grow and tasting it were treats to remember. Over the span of hundreds of years, Inuit diet has relied heavily — almost solely — on fats and proteins. Even in the current age of food transport, fresh fruits and vegetables have short shelf live after traveling great distances and often cost a fortune. For this reason, vegetation and its ilk remain a novelty in Northernmost locations. But greenhouse farming may change that.
THE GREEN GENE Over the course of centuries, humankind has attempted to circumvent the effects of undesirable weather, hoping to thereby increase the growing season of plant life. Roman gardeners his-
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torically shuttled plants between outdoor sun and indoor warmth to ensure year-round vegetable growth — scanty as the output may have been. Likewise, countries all across the world have experimented with various forms of greenhouses, hoping to perfect
indoor growth capability. Techniques were tweaked and perfected, and greenhouses began to do more than just shelter vegetables. Active greenhouses, first noted as existing in Korea, enabled regulation over temperature and humidity — both of which are vital to the health of vegetation. It wasn’t until the 17th century, though, that those with the green gene finally drastically improved both form and function of the greenhouse. Throughout the course of that century, ever larger and more sophisticated buildings were created, with the Palace of Versailles hosting a greenhouse that was nearly 500 feet long — surely a world record at the time. Greenhouses reached peak popularity during the late 1800s, when Victorian aristocrats and professional botanists competed at creating the most elaborate structures. The glass-walled buildings of Kew Gardens are testament to the enchantment with indoor horticulture. Boasting over 121 hectares (300 acres) of gardens and greenhouses, Kew Gardens is still active to this very day. The onset of the 20th century brought new developments such as PVC piping and polyethylene film (a type of plastic) to greenhouse construction, allowing private farms to cheaply acquire or even construct their own greenhouses. In current times, even amateurs can give their green thumb a try with highly affordable hobby greenhouses. There are even miniature travel greenhouses with carry straps available for under $35, just in case a grower absolutely must tote his plant along with him on vacation...
COMMERCIAL GREENHOUSES While every greenhouse works by harnessing the solar radiation that passes through the glass or