Sask. greenhouse manager seeing more first-time gardeners ahead of spring

With weather patterns shifting to above-seasonal temperatures, a Saskatchewan greenhouse manager said excitement is only growing from people with green thumbs eager to start the gardening season.

“This is my favourite time of year,” said Carson Van Duyvendyk with Dutch Growers Home & Garden in Regina. “Honestly, March is my favourite month of the year to work here.

“I love planting, I love seeing all the little babies come in and getting to pod them up and watch them grow.”

Since the weather shifted from frigid -40 C temperatures to above zero, Van Duyvendyk said there were 30 eager gardeners at all times swarming the seed racks at the store.

“It’s been pretty crazy, he said. “People are excited, I think people are wanting to plant more than ever this year.”

A staff member plants rosemary plugs into pots at Dutch Growers in Regina. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Many people are beginning to plant tomatoes and peppers this time of year so they have enough light to grow, according to Van Duyvendyk.

“If we lived in California or Florida, they wouldn’t take that long. But because we live in Saskatchewan, where it’s – 10 C, and we only have eight hours of sunlight, the tomatoes take quite a bit longer,” he said. “You really got to start them now – or in the next couple weeks – if you want to have kind of any chance at having a decent tomato plant for the spring.”

Van Duyvendyk said Wednesday was the company’s first big day of planting for 2025.

Thousands of baby plants called plugs arrive at the greenhouse from suppliers in Ontario and British Columbia.

Two kinds of planting take place this time of year, including filling big hanging baskets and four-inch pots.

About 10 staff members work in the greenhouse filling pots with dirt and potting plugs for the remainder of March. The plants grow throughout April before they start being bought during the busy season in May.

Herbs were one of the first plants staff members potted on Wednesday. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

This year, Van Duyvendyk said he has noticed a few more first-time growers come through the greenhouse amid tariff threats from the United States.

“I’ve never seen it like this in the past,” he said. “So I’d say this year — more than ever — people are actually taking the time to see if things are made in Canada.”

He said more people are looking to grow their produce so they know where it comes from, and to protect themselves from rising costs if tariffs are implemented.

“I think this year more than ever — even comparable like the COVID years — I would say people want to plant vegetables more than ever,” Van Duyvendyk said.

The first day of spring is March 20.