'This is what romaine lettuce should taste like.'

Iqaluit may be experiencing a mostly cold and dreary summer, but there's one spot in town where it's sensible to wear shorts and a t-shirt: the newly-opened community greenhouse.

"If the sun ever comes out, we'll have tomatoes that will ripen," says Peter Workman, a member of the Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society, as he waters tomato vines that dangle from the rafters of the building, where on Sunday, July 29, it's 22° C inside and about 10° C outside.

Beneath the tomatoes are garden plots that contain romaine lettuce, carrots, several varieties of beans, peas, and zucchinis, along with potatoes and onions growing inside.

And there are potted marigolds and other flowers, to decorate the outside of the building, located across the street from the Legislative Assembly.

The blooming flowers and flourishing vegetables, planted in mid-June, are a dream at long last realized for the 75-odd members of the greenhouse society, after years of drafting grant proposals and holding fundraisers.

The group initially had a far-more ambitious plan to build a $4 million greenhouse, but they had difficulty securing money for the project from the federal government.

So the group went ahead with building a smaller pilot project, at a cost of about $100,000, to demonstrate that a greenhouse in the Arctic works.

It may not be warm in Iqaluit compared with southern Ontario, but the length of the days during the summer here works in the greenhouse's favour.

Workman spent two summers working in a greenhouse in Listowel, Ont., where there's 12 hours of daylight at the peak of summer. In contrast, Iqaluit enjoys up to 22 hours of sunlight.

Plants notice the difference. Zucchini usually takes 21 days before the plants poke out of the ground. In Iqaluit's greenhouse, the plants were visible after four days.

Garbage cans full of water serve to moderate the temperature inside the greenhouse. They absorb heat, and slowly release it during cold spells.

Later this summer, a furnace will be installed to help provide additional heat when it's needed. Greenhouse volunteers hope the growing season could be extended as late as the end of October.

A ventilation fan helps cool the building during the day. It's needed: on April 1, the temperature was -27° C outside, but 54° C inside the greenhouse.

Much of the food grown inside will be given to the elders home, or the women's emergency shelter, Workman said.

Whoever receives the donations will be privy to a rare treat in the Arctic: freshly picked produce.

"This is what romaine lettuce should taste like," Workman says, offering a leaf. "It has flavour. It has taste. It hasn't been sitting on a truck for a week."