We're Growing Vegetables All Winter!

Did you know that farmers in Upstate New York can grow vegetables all winter long?! It's pretty amazing. We're going to be telling you all about it in the coming months here are some lingo you might hear us use.

Hoophouse - When we say hoophouse, we mean an unheated structure made of metal pipes and covered in transparent plastic. This traps heat from the sun to help us grow vegetables even when it is freezing cold outside.

Greenhouse - We have a greenhouse that is pretty similar to our hoophouse except that it has a gravel floor instead of a dirt floor and it does have a heater. We use the heater sparingly - the greenhouse is still uninsulated, but it makes a big difference. This is where we start all of our seedlings and grow things like pea shoots and microgreens. We put in some new raised beds for more winter growing space - this is a fun experiment for us.

Winter Greens - Some vegetables are better at growing in the winter than others. These vegetables are winter greens. They include kale, spinach, Swiss chard and the like. As long as there aren't crazy swings in temperature, they can handle freezing a little bit. It even makes them sweeter. The plants produce more sugar when it's cold outside to act as a natural antifreeze.

Storage Crops - These are vegetables that are grown in the summer during the regular growing season, but do well when stored in the proper conditions for many months. Think onions, garlic, winter squash and sweet potatoes. While not technically grown in the winter - they sure are tasty to eat in the winter.

There are still spots available for our winter CSA at the farm it starts the first week in November and pick-ups are on Fridays from 4:30 pm to 7 pm. We hope to see you there.