Saskatoon man grows tropical fruit in homemade greenhouse

A local business owner has found a way to bring the tropics to Saskatoon in an a-peeling way.

Dean Sopher, the owner of local food production business Arkopia, has learned how to grow a variety of exotic fruits and plants – including bananas, guavas, passion fruits, oranges, eucalyptus and even bamboo – right in his own backyard.

Sopher said three years ago he decided to build a passive solar deep-winter greenhouse, entirely on his own.

Dean Sopher built a greenhouse out of refurbished material to grow tropical fruit in Saskatoon’s winter. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)

The greenhouse was made with refurbished material and is kept warm and humid all the time, with temperatures kept at a minimum of 10 C.

“I knew the concept would work – I designed it with sun angles in mind,” Sopher said.

“In Saskatoon we have 319 sunny days a year, so (we) might as well take advantage of all of that.”

Sopher said growing the exotic fruit rounds out what he already grows on his farm for his family, and he also provides some of the produce to the local community.

Dean Sopher harvested his first batch of bananas, weighing 40 pounds. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)

With a proper greenhouse to provide sunlight, insulation, and thermal mass, Sopher said bananas are “the easiest thing to grow.” All they need, he said, is a lot of water and fish waste for fertilizer.

“Very low maintenance (and) low input costs as well,” he said.

After waiting three years, he finally harvested his first batch of 145 bananas, weighing a total 40 pounds. He said the bananas are the same size and quality as those grown in the tropics, but his are made fresh in Saskatchewan.

“It’s tropical paradise, so we don’t feel like going on vacation anymore,” he said.

Sopher said operating costs are extremely minimal, and heating the greenhouse costs him less than $1,000 a year.

“A lot of people don’t believe me. They think I photoshopped me holding bananas in the snow,” he joked. “I had to prove the concept works.”

On top of the greenhouse, Sopher’s business also creates freeze-dried smoothies, and he also grows crops including potatoes, carrots, and beets on his farm.