Move over wheat, canola, and lentils. Make room for bananas, lemons, limes, oranges, figs, and other sweet and exotic treats you wouldn’t expect to survive a Saskatchewan winter. One innovative grower is showing how the province’s bounty can become tastier and more diverse.

Former Saskatoon city boy Dean Sopher tells Mitch, Regan, and Trevor how he passed on promising career prospects in computer programming and commerce to become an off-grid produce pioneer. Now, as owner and operator of Arkopia Greenhouse Homestead, he grows a variety of exotic plants – including banana trees – in a passive solar greenhouse he built himself. He’s also raising grass-fed livestock and freeze-drying delicious, long-lasting fruit smoothies.

Dean has some sound advice for those considering permaculture and solar-powered regenerative farming – and wait until you hear how low his power costs are.

Hosts:

Trevor Grinde – Senior Field Service Technician – Flaman Sales  

Regan Kunz – Agriculture Sales – Flaman Sales  

Mitch Flaman – Senior Manager - Marketing & IT – Flaman Sales  

Guest:

Dean Sopher – Owner and Operator – Arkopia Greenhouse Homestead

Length: 23:38

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Producer: Jonathan Hutchinson – Web & Content Developer – Flaman Sales  

Copywriter:  Jeff Brown – Senior Writer – Flaman Sales  

Graphic Designer: Shanelle Pender – Content Creator & Senior Graphic Designer – Flaman Sales  

Digital Marketer: Vanessa Schaedler – Digital Marketing Specialist – Flaman Sales  

Social Media: Calla Simpson – Content Creator & Social Media – Flaman Sales