The Northern Soil Recipes project is a effort to find an alternative to importing soil into the NWT. Importing large quantities of soil for gardening can be expensive and inefficient. Building on the existing soil in a way that promotes soil fertility and soil life can allow us to grow food that is truly local, reducing dependencies on outside resources.
Four recipes were made to loosely work for different regions of the NWT, each starting from different base soil and available local soil additive resources. The recipes can be followed strictly or simply used as guides, many different materials can be incorporated.
The recipes can be viewed and downloaded below. Physical recipe cards can be picked up at the Ecology North office in Yellowknife, or mailed to you (for free) by contacting admin@ecologynorth.ca
For a helpful addition to the recipe cards, read our Soil Recipes booklet. In it you’ll find specific instructions for putting together healthy garden soil using local materials, no matter where you are in the NWT.