Garden

Sunshine 24/7 and what that means

24-hour daylight in Inuvik means huge insects and plants growing like mad.

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Credit: Sheena Adams

The big breakup: as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to.

Super-sized plants and bugs in Inuvik with 24/7 sunlight


It is now 24-hour daylight here in Inuvik, NT. Children play in the park at midnight and picnics are held at 2 a.m., complete with Frisbee games.

The plants are growing like mad. The long light provides the energy for 24/7 photosynthesis and a steady temperature that never drops too low in the greenhouse. With constant light levels, watering has become a twice-a-day job – yes, we do midnight watering!

I wonder if the 24-hour light is responsible for the big spiders, gigantic bees and humongous mosquitoes.

They are all super-sized up here – must be the genetics, as it seems only the hardy and big survive!

Melting ice and the big break up

The 24-hour light has also melted the ice roads and the river is busy moving broken ice out to the Arctic Ocean.It is as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to. With the breakup happening, Inuvik has only flight service for transportation. Luckily, we have all the greenhouse supplies we need.

We are set to open for retail garden-produce sales in early June – when most of Canada is just planting!

I will try to get on a natural sleep pattern – however, I think for now it will be sleep when you’re feeling tired and have fun while you are wide awake. With all this sunshine, my need for sleep has been reduced – like the plants, I am running on solar!