Growing through the winter

I just returned from an exciting morning workshop held at Hamline University in St. Paul detailing one couples’ experience in raising vegetables (greens especially) indoors during the cold and short days of our Minnesota winter.  The workshop was sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/).  

The presenters were Chuck Waibel and Carol Ford, recent graduates of the LSP’s Farm Beginnings program.  Chuck and Carol operate a CSA garden and greenhouse operation from their small town urban lot in Milan, MN.  They serve 18 families (12 CSA shares) with delicious local produce consisting of a mix of summer grown and stored root crops and fresh greens raised inside their innovative solar greenhouse.  I MUST EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS A RARE WINTER CSA.  THEIR SEASON IS AN AMAZING 24 WEEKS IN LENGTH FROM FALL TO SPRING! 

The workshop was split into three segments.  First, Chuck discussed the design and construction methods used to build the greenhouse.  The structure is attached to the south side of a garage and is 16′ deep by 22′ wide–and 16′ tall at the peak.  The south face of the greenhouse is covered in lightweight rigid polycarbonate glazing.  A portion of the east and west walls are also polycarb.  All remaining faces of the building are well insulated.  This is a very easy building to heat ($50 per season in propane) and growing occurs without the use of any grow lights.  A key piece of the design is an active solar system.  On sunny days, warm air (110 degrees) is pulled from the peak of the greenhouse and blown into a 4″ perforated tube installed beneath the surface soil of the greenhouse.  The tube loops back and forth in a river rock bed.  It’s this massive rock bed that is able to store the heat and returned it to the plants.  Greens are planted both into the soil floor of the greenhouse and into a series of hanging planters to gain maximum use of the space. 

The second portion was Carol’s turn.  She spoke about production and the timing of different crops.  Some examples of their winter grown veggies include:  brocolli, chinese cabbage, pac choi, chard, kale, turnips, arugula, beet greens, claytonia, garden cress, lettuces, komatsuna, minutina, mizuna, mustards, and tatsoi.  Some of these greens may be quite unfamiliar to the you–so make sure to take a little time to research them if you are curious, it will be well worth it.

The third portion was a talk by Amy Bacigalupo (LSP staff person).  Amy spoke about the numbers–how to create a business plan and achieve a desired margin of profit.  This is often overlooked . . . 

More information is available by searching the web for the name of Carol and Chuck’s operation:  Garden Goddess CSA, Milan, MN.