Vancouverites are notorious for their passionate outlook towards natural living, organic products, and environmental awareness. Combine this with the fact that many people who reside in our city call apartments and condos home, and the idea of maintaining a green thumb seems nearly impossible. Thanks to Judy Kenzie, it’s never been so easy for city dwellers to grow their own produce – no yard space needed, with her business Strathcona 1890.
The product is seeds, and in Judy’s words, “the mandate is to create local employment opportunities for single moms, youth, and people on disability.” Not only is this “small, local, family-run business passionate about food sovereignty and the health of our planet,” but the emphasis Judy has placed on helping low income families and children of the East side makes Strathcona 1890 an all around rewarding business that Vancouver can be proud to support.
The array of products offered is vast; from edible flowers to salad samplers to rare and unusual seeds. “We created these collections of open pollinated, heirloom, and non-GMO seeds to inspire people to grow a little,” Judy explained to me. Not only will the fruits of your labor be divine, but also the beautiful visuals that decorate each package they come in. “We created all the artwork ourselves and every collection is put together by hand.” Combine Judy’s background in branding and advertising, her loyalty towards ethical clients, and a passion for gardening, and she was led to the inspiration of creating Strathcona 1890.
The thought of creating seed combinations seems slightly baffling. Upon asking Judy what went into creating the product she explained “A lot! First I have to determine what seeds are appropriate for urban growing conditions as well as small spaces. I then determine what will work together well in a collection and what recipe or project is best suited to the collection of seeds. I then come up with a name and humorous tag line for the collection such as “Rare and Unusual: For gardens the likes of which no one has seen, including the Joneses”. At that point it takes me about a week to do the illustration. We then print all the labels and information sheets and bag all the seeds. Once we have all the components I put together the final product.” The knowledge required to develop Judy’s seed combinations is only that of a true gardener with the drive to educate our community on the benefits reaped of growing our own gardens.
When Judy isn’t working on the extensive process of creating her products she’s busy working with the community, something she is equally passionate about. “I am currently working with the Youth Council from Strathcona Community Centre on a Vertical Teaching Garden which is in its final planning stages and will be built in the next few months,” she explains. “But I think my all time favorite program is Growing with Lego. I just finished four classes at Lord Strathcona Elementary School. It is awesome because even if kids don’t have an interest in gardening, 98 percent are into Lego.” This remarkable passion of changing the community one seed at a time is an inspiration to each generation Judy interacts with.
Strathcona 1890’s most iconic project to date is the infamous truck farm. Inspired by the original truckfarm.org, Judy dusted off her old truck that hadn’t been driven in six years, fixed it up, planted a miniature farm in the box and from there Vancouver’s own truck farm was born. “It is friggin awesome!” Judy says excitedly. “You can’t be in a bad mood in the Truck Farm. It has been exhibited all over the place – the PNE for two years, Science World, inside Canada Place for another craft fair… It has also garnered national attention.” Learn more about this innovative gardening initiative at truckfarm.ca, or visit the Strathcona 1890 website to look into purchasing your own truck farm seeds!
Aside from educating the community, Judy’s favorite part of being a local vendor is engaging with people. “Not just the public, the other vendors too,” she says. “There is a really cool community within the vendor crowd.”
“My quest is to inspire more people to grow a little food. Participating in events like Portobello gives me the opportunity to inspire people to try it.”
Written by: Kelli Klassen
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