Abstract:

The food landscape of Calgary, Canada, is sown with an abundance of polycultures. Alongside place-specific Indigenous foodways are food rescue, banking, and hamper programs, food studies scholars, a City of Calgary food resilience plan, and a growing number of alternative food network producers. Within the local alternative food network, there has been a boom in advancing indoor growing for our colder climate, including container, aquaponic, vertical hydroponic, and greenhouse growing. Situated as an agrarian ethno-grapherand an urban regenerative farmer, we seek to highlight the viability of agricultural techniques that are in relation with the land to grow more socially and ecologically sustainable food and farmsystems in and around Calgary.A reflexive practitioner approach discusses the benefits and limitations of Small Plot Intensive Farming methods and urban land-sharing strategies, as well as the viability of land-based urban agriculture in a rapidly changing socio-ecological climate.