The Fireweed Market will open tomorrow as a food-only venture without the usual roster of arts and crafts merchants, buskers and beer gardens.

According to Darren Holcombe, the market’s manager, this is because it has been permitted to open as an essential food service under COVID-19 guidelines.

“We’re operating like an outdoor grocery store,” Holcombe told the Star this morning.

This means that 27 food merchants will operate in a controlled access area. Customers will use a single entrance, flanked with a hand-washing station, and be expected to adhere to physical distancing guidelines and shop without lingering to socialize.

The early weeks of the market will present a different environment than Yukoners are used to. It has traditionally been a hub of community and entertainment on Thursday evenings.

“It’s odd messaging for us, because we usually invite people down to enjoy themselves at our market,” Holcombe said.

Holcombe is optimistic that some of these restrictions will be relaxed as the summer goes forward, and hopes to eventually invite arts and crafts vendors back to the market and offer sit-in dining options.

In the meantime, all merchants will sell their wares on the Fireweed Market’s new online store. Clients can order products on the Fireweed website and arrange for pick-up or delivery directly from the vendor.

Scott Snider of Anarchy Farms, near Judas Creek south of Whitehorse, will return to the market this summer to sell his extensive array of fruit plants and edible flowers, which he says are food products clients can enjoy long-term.

“Growing your own food, you have some security and there’s a sense of satisfaction,” Snider said in an interview Tuesday at the farm.

“People like to nurture things; they like to see something grow and I think it’s a healthy, calming thing for people.”

Snider wasn’t sure if he would receive approval to sell his plants under the COVID-19 guidelines, conceding that branding plants as food products will be a “bit of a jump for people.”

In preparation for the possibility of no market sales this summer, Snider said he rejoined Facebook to network with gardeners and spread the word about Anarchy Farms.

True to the anarchist mentality, Snider said he also considered setting up sales out of his vehicle.

“I thought I would go to town like an old truck gardener,” Snider said.

“Go to town and just park somewhere and you a buy plants on the side of the road.”

Snider was pleased to receive the go-ahead from Fireweed management, however, and will be at the market every Thursday starting June 4.

Many of Snider’s plants are sourced from the University of Saskatchewan’s agricultural research facility.

These plants are hearty and likely to succeed in the Yukon’s challenging climate.

“I hate selling stuff to people that are just going to die on them,” Snider said.

His mission, instead, is to make growing food at home as simple and accessible as possible.

His plants are intentionally set at affordable prices, starting at $30 for a potted plant that is ready to be deposited into a home garden.

This summer, Snider will sell potted Saskatoon berries, cherries, raspberries, seabuckthorn, flowering crabapples and haskaps. These are mostly plants that gardeners of any skill level will have success with.

“Haskaps are really hard to kill; you have to work hard at killing them,” Snider said.

“I like what’s easy for people.”

Snider also sells petunias of every colour and texture, flowers he says are tough enough to survive some frost, don’t attract a lot of bugs and will last well into September.

Petunia petals are edible, and Snider suggested they can be used in recipes similar to squash and cucumber blossoms. The petals have a sweet, spicy flavour, can be added to salads or used as garnishes.

Snider also grows pots of sweetgrass, a sacred plant in First Nations ceremonies.

He sells them for $10, and has donated several to the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, to make the plants more available to First Nations citizens who are living in town.

Snider said he has received some backlash for selling the plants, but believes making them available is a good thing.

“We’re not profiteering off something sacred,” Snider said.

“It’s about bringing access to people.”

Anarchy Farms plants are organically grown with fish fertilizers and potted in healthy soil. Snider believes that organic plants have more longevity.

“Chemicals grow plants like addicts,” he said.

Snider’s mandate is to work collaboratively with the natural timeline of plant growth, rather than propelling it forward with the use of chemicals.

“We go by the consensus model: I want this, the natural environment wants this, so how can I make this work and be compatible?”

Snider said he hopes market restrictions will relax, so that Yukoners can return to enjoying the market in the usual way.

“The impact of the market is big, and more than just the vendors, the craftspeople,” Snider said.

“It’s a big social venue for people and that’s going away. I’m sure people are just dying for contact, for some involvement.”

Snider has been growing and selling plants at Anarchy Farms for more than 10 years, and is looking forward to another successful season.

“I’m not an expert; I just like to grow these things,” Snider said.

“People take them home, they’re happy, and I make a bit of money.”

Beginning tomorrow, the Fireweed Market will open from 3 to 7 p.m. every Thursday.