A Big Harvest From The Vegetable Greenhouse
As you may know, several years ago, I constructed a special greenhouse so that we could grow organic vegetables in the ground, using very little heat, all winter long. I was inspired by writers Eliot Coleman and his wife, Barbara Damrosch, who own an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine called Four Season Farm. My gardener, Ryan McCallister, has been doing a fine job with succession planting and keeping the produce coming. Yesterday, he picked quite a harvest for me to share with my daughter and grandchildren, and I just have to say that the flavors of these vegetables are so pure and clean tasting.
1 This is the vegetable greenhouse, a wonderful and productive addition to my farm.
2 This row in the greenhouse contains some very nice, mature beets. This section is a variety called Detroit Dark Red.
3 This section of beets is called Chioggia Guardsmark.
4 Chioggia Guardsmark is an heirloom beet from Italy, renowned for its unusual bullseye stripes of red and white as well as for its sweet, mild peppery flavor. It's especially beautiful in sliced beet salads.
5 Before pulling a beet, Ryan removes the surrounding earth to see if its big enough. If not, he pushes the soil back in place.
6 He was surprised to uncover this specimen.
7 It's a mutant all white beet!
8 Pulling a Detroit Dark Red, a classic variety that produces very dark red and extremely sweet roots.
9 These beets are so healthy and beautiful.
10 An entire bucket of beets!
11 Ryan is now cutting chervil, a delicate culinary herb used frequently in French cuisine. A member of the parsley family, chervil has a mild flavor with hints of liquorice or anise. It's great in salads and soups, where it will not be overpowered by the other flavors and it's a good addition to omelets.
12 A generous bunch of Italian parsley - This will find its way into my morning green juice.
13 A bit of dill to go with those gorgeous beets
14 Ryan is now gathering some cutting celery, which has a more pungent flavor than grocery-store celery, and can be substituted for regular celery in most recipes. A few sprigs can replace one large celery stalk. This is a great herb to grow.
15 This patch is Swiss chard Bright Lights. With stems of red, yellow, rose, gold, and white, Bright Lights is a visual feast in your vegetable garden, and at your dinner table.
16 The flavor of Bright Lights is milder than ordinary chard, with each color a bit different. Chard is really two vegetables in one. The stems are crunchy, like celery and the leaves are like robust spinach. Cook the stems for a longer duration than the leaves.
17 This lovely kale will go into my green juice.
18 These purple leaves are Japanese mustard greens. Like other brassicas, mildly spicy mustard greens are quite valuable nutritionally, containing large numbers of essential vitamins and minerals.
19 Ryan always makes sure that there is plenty of leafy spinach growing throughout the winter. Spinach is an essential ingredient of my juice.
20 This patch is New Zealand spinach. This extremely hardy plant is not a true spinach, however its leaves are triangular like spinach and they are quite succulent and nutritious.
21 Ryan has been very successful growing cucumbers this year. These are called Katrina and the plant produces a sizable crop in a hoophouse or greenhouse setting.
22 Ryan also grows a seedless, snack-size cucumber called Rocky, which also does well in a greenhouse setting. That's a lot of cukes for one picking!
23 Now Ryan is cutting zucchini.
24 This is our first ever harvest of zucchini in the greenhouse.
25 One row is devoted to woody culinary herbs. There is plenty of rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and a few varieties of sage.
26 Picking tender leafy lettuce
27 A head of buttery bib
28 It's a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long.
29 There are also potted tomato plants growing along one long wall of the greenhouse. They are doing very well and the fruit should begin to ripen in a few weeks.
30 Big Beef is a hybrid tomato that, when ripe, is extra meaty with a real homegrown flavor.
31 Sakura is a hybrid cherry that produces perfect, uniform, bright red tomatoes.
32 New Girl, another hybrid, produces large red tomatoes.
33 Ryan, along with Wilmer, has grown some amazing produce this winter in the vegetable greenhouse.
34 The abundant vegetable delivery
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
What else can I say?, but...Wow, and double WOW!!!
Good work guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good eating, Martha!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | March 20th, 2013 at 12:17 am
Hi Martha,
I enjoyed so much seeing all the lovely vegetables you are growing in your greenhouse and enjoy eating them all winter,how wonderful to have fresh vegetables everyday form your garden in the greenhouse-we grow a small garden in the summer here in Oregon,we ddon't have much space,but we grow our favorite things,we have thought of getting a small greenhouse and trying it out,have to do some more talking to my husband as I'd love to have fresh vegetables from my own garden in a greenhouse- Thanks for sharing your greenhouse with all of us,enjoyed seeing all your vegetables you are growing and eating- Fran
Posted by: Fran Danville | March 20th, 2013 at 1:11 am
Hi Martha, What a beautiful harvest. The greenhouse is a nifty thing to have. Here in Arizona we have the opposite problem of the sun being too hot in the summer, not to mention the challenging so-called soil which is seriously organically poor. A lot of challenges have to be overcome just like with East coast winters, but it's all worth it. Thanks for sharing as usual.
Posted by: ceecee | March 20th, 2013 at 1:49 am
Oh Martha, I would love to have a farm like you do, where I can have pure, clean and organic vegetables everyday to share with my family...
Posted by: Jeffrey Tan | March 20th, 2013 at 1:53 am
Martha,
WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I would be in heaven if I had veggies like that! The curcumber and zucchini looked great! Happy eating, and thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 20th, 2013 at 1:54 am
Good Morning Martha!
The vegetables from the greenhouse look delicious!! As somone who enjoys healthy eating I appreciate that beautiful bounty!! My mouth waters for that buttery bib lettuce in a salad and there is nothing like swiss chard sauteed with oil,lots of garlic, salt and pepper on a crispy fresh Italian roll!!! ....hard to believe I just had breakfast!
I so enjoy your blog!!! Have a great day
Linda Ortolano
Posted by: Lind Ortolano | March 20th, 2013 at 4:41 am
Hmmm- so fresh & green - delicious !
What is the temperature in the greenhouse & how do you keep it warm (gas/electric) ?
Would love to share a "green drink" with you ... Enjoy !
Posted by: Dani & cats | March 20th, 2013 at 6:59 am
Ryan and Wilmar do look to be the best gardeners.These photos inspire me to order seed and will use Home Depot Coupon that I won in their garden club. Our mother raised food to feed her family of 8 children on the Dakota prairies. Not fresh in winter as then we had only home canned and stored vegetables and fruit from her gardens. She would start tomato plants in a sunny window six weeks before first frost free day as not much available space for growing vegetables inside.
Posted by: ann | March 20th, 2013 at 7:29 am
Interesting, I've never heard of cutting celery, and it's an herb?
Have I told you lately how much I love your blog Martha, I learn something new every day
Ryan and Wilmer are doing a fantastic job in the vegetable greenhouse, everything looks healthy and delicious!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 20th, 2013 at 7:40 am
Dear Martha,
Your vegetable greenhouse is ALIVE! Every home needs one of these!
I just linked-out over article on bulding a greenhouse from empty plastic liter bottles!
I'm curious about the mutant beet? Heirlooms can't create a mutant? Or is it the other way 'round? Hybrids can't create a mutant? Was the mutant beet(which is heirloom) especially good-tasting? Or was it "mute" in taste? Seeing your beautiful beets reminds me to plant beets this year! Last year I forgot all about beets...and they 're one of my favs...
Why is this only the first harvest of zucchini? Oh, you mean this year?! No matter - you've got zucchini now! Any yellow squash? How 'bout watermelon? I'm guessing that some things will not do well in greenhouse? LIke corn, carrots, etc? Great to have the wide assortment of greens and lettuces, especially for juicing. You don't grow carrots in greenhouse for juicing, do you? (Juicing like you do, is the #1 way to maintain health...but it must be organic...and I know yours are!)
You think there is a different, 'clean' taste to these vegetables grown in-house? compared to those grown outdoor? I would tend to think so.
Thanks for all of the tips and info on the herbs you are growing; especially the celeric herb - sounds like a good one to plant.
Why don't you build a little Bohemian Juice Bar in one of the corners of the greenhouse? A summery spot to resign in winter. Put up a big yellow umbrellla, add a couple of barstools, hang up a sign that says [NO ROCK THROWING] and sip juice while lounging in the snowy tropics? (Gotta tell ya, I'm still spinning from your trip to Eurethra!)
HI! RYAN & WILMER! GREAT JOB! You lucky dogs! Bet you get to take home sacks of veggies, right? And just wonderng, Martha, how Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damroschs' Four Season Farm experimental greenhouse market garden is doing? Vegetarian Portland is also a place of interest in that area.
I love having your blog to read, enjoy and learn from! I also admire your thoughful commenters! Thank you for having us in mind when it comes to sharing everything LIVING!
Posted by: Tina Y. | March 20th, 2013 at 8:21 am
REALLY COOL!!!!
I mean hot and green...
Martha, I would start a new line of Martha business and set up these green houses in grocery stores and use their waste heat, maybe use raised beds with great soil ( a sandy loam for drainage and fertility,
I would call it Marthaculture.....
I'm an agronomist by training)
Some soils heat better than others...
I never thought to heat the ground!!!
I've been using nutrient baths ( not aquaculture) for spinach and lettuce in the winter, three weeks to harvest!but too much energy in, this looks brilliant.
Posted by: Dave Lincoln | March 20th, 2013 at 8:26 am
Hi Martha,
There's nothing like fresh vegetables and I'm sure your daughter and grandchildren agree. I would love to grow any of those vegetables but we don't really have the right kind of soil where I live. Most everything I plant has to be put in pots yet not everything produces the way it should. It is better for me to wait for the farmer's markets to have what I want although I can get some good organic at Costco. I would love to try growing Swiss chard one year because yours looks so good.
~
I saw your crafts paint demo on HSN this morning and really loved the Beginner’s paint and stencil kit and also the spray paint system. I’ll be getting both of those before Craft month is over and most likely, later on today. I can never wait. You and your little elves are so brilliant with the new things you come up with! I’d like to spray paint my light fixture but not with a smelly paint so your paint and sprayer will be perfect!
~
That was a quick but great laundry segment you did on the Today show this morning. If you ever decide to do a survey on non-scented or scented laundry detergent, I vote for non-scented. Some of that stuff has a powerful smell, like Gain for instance. Not for me! Have a great day and I’m glad you’re back safe and sound from Medellin and Bogota. I worried when my son was down there too and then he went to Costa Rico. I’m a homebody. Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 20th, 2013 at 9:06 am
Martha,
I meant to add the link to your great craft paints and stencils at HSN for anyone else who might want to get them. They are so worth the money, very reasonable! Here's the link. http://bit.ly/10hGxLx
Posted by: Trish | March 20th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Hi Martha, It was so great to hear you on SiriusXM 107 yesterday and loved the information you shared about your trip to Columbia! Sure will be fun to see you on The Today Show this morning and I miss seeing you on TV daily! Your new PBS Cooking School will begin on April 3rd here and I can't wait to see you again! Thank you so much for sharing this latest blog about that big harvest in your terrific vegetable greenhouse! I remember when you had it built and it has been fantastic ever since! Oh, how I wish I had the space to build one, also because I love most of those winter vegetables! Seeing that website from Elliot and Barbara was also great! I get most of my organic vegetables at Costco and they are all good! Loved every one of these marvelous photos showing so many organic, delicious winter vegetables that Ryan and Wilmer were picking to bring to you! What would you do without those great crew members?! They are absolutely marvelous!! I love seeing so many varieties of these organic vegetables and they all look delicious! I also love all of those items you use to make juice daily! When can I come and pick some of those delicious organic vegetables?!!! Thanks for another wonderful blog! You are spectacular! Hope you have a great day! Off to see The Daily Wag about "Time Lapse and daffodils"!!
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 20th, 2013 at 9:35 am
How wonderful to have fresh vegetables in the dead of winter!! That is quite a harvest for you and your daughter and grandchildren!! You are very fortunate to have the resources to have a greenhouse in your own backyard!! You definitely will stay healthy.
Posted by: Sharon | March 20th, 2013 at 10:00 am
Great blog, Martha.
Do you know the proper name of a vegetable known as "Sour Leaf"?
My mother used to make a soup using it, but I also remember eating it raw right from the garden.
I also have fond memories of eating Peas right off the plant after snapping off the ends & 'spine'.
Posted by: Rolf (No U or W in my name) | March 20th, 2013 at 10:02 am
Dear Martha ,
The pictures look awesome ...amazingly inspirational !
One day I would like to have a small farm , a Monolithic Dome with Solar Panels , Wind Turbines and other alternative energy sources , with a green house ...
So I can live off of the grid , be GREEN and have a more natural HEALTHY life by growing and producing my own food .
I think that you are one amazingly inspirational woman with some of the most imaginative and incredibly creative ideas .
Thank you for sharing your gifts and ideas with us .GOD BLESS all that you do . <3
Love and Hugs ,
-Tempo Temptress
Posted by: Tempo Temptress | March 20th, 2013 at 10:07 am
For Rolf - I believe what you are referring to is a wonderful green leafy plant called sorrel. With leaves that look a lot like spinach, sour-tasting sorrel can be eaten in salads or made into a wonderful soup, a favorite recipe in Eastern Europe where it is eaten hot or cold.
Posted by: Martha Stewart | March 20th, 2013 at 10:22 am
This is very impressive! Your greenhouse of organic vegetables may have the potential to change the world. I am inspired to try my hand at my own greenhouse. It would be a great trend.
Posted by: Debby Sunshine | March 20th, 2013 at 10:30 am
Wow. Beautiful job, Ryan! Oh, to be a millionaire
Posted by: Mona | March 20th, 2013 at 10:35 am
Calming just to look at, Martha. Wish I could visit and sample the green juice. Happy spring to you.
Posted by: Jocelyn | March 20th, 2013 at 10:51 am
Curious to know whether there are any vegetables that have not been successful in the greenhouse.
Here in Tucson the best produce is found at Food City, a grocery store chain that is common in Mexican-American neighborhoods. Often the vegetables will have small imperfections, but the taste is superior.
Posted by: homer | March 20th, 2013 at 11:20 am
Good Morning Martha,
Your organic vegetable greenhouse is super. I would want to be in that greenhouse all winter enjoying the sun and the growing plants. Ryan and Wilmer are doing a great job keeping everything healthy and on track. My garden is quite shady and I've struggled with growing vegetables. This inspires me to try again because home grown is the best.
Posted by: Cindy M | March 20th, 2013 at 11:31 am
How wonderful these vegetables look. We are installing a greenhouse at Crest Avenue in the spring, albeit a good deal smaller than yours. I hope to at least be able to grow a few of these things myself.
Posted by: John Newman | March 20th, 2013 at 11:39 am
It is a beautiful, outstanding garden and truly an inspiration!
Posted by: Heather | March 20th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Wow Martha!
They all look so fantastic. I love the pictures of the beets. Also, I have to try some the herbs that you shared
Posted by: Sam Martinez | March 20th, 2013 at 12:07 pm
I would like to see Ryan and Wilmer do video like Sara does for Everyday Food on your website and like Lucinda does for Mad Hungry. This blog is wonderful and I love these farm entries..but I would like to see a lesson on how to seed the cutting celery for instance. not just in still photos..which is helfpul. I have never seen that herb. What great gardeners! How inspiring to me! Martha your grandkids are so lucky that you and Alexis are taking such good care of their nutrition. So lucky!
Posted by: E. Teresa Touey | March 20th, 2013 at 12:49 pm
I'll echo everyone else here and say how beautiful those nutritious, organic vegetables look and how lucky you are to have that type of produce all year long. What a great job Ryan (and Wilmer) have done!
Angela
Posted by: Angela | March 20th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Beautiful vegetables in your greenhouse. I am a big fan of yours and am truly in awe of your garden. Love your new cookbook. Looking forward to many more healthy and delicious recipes.
Happy Spring!
Posted by: Lori Duncan | March 20th, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Dear Martha, and everybody!
Today's the first day of spring...I read Martha's tweet last night, so HAPPY SPRING!!!
...and down in Florida the Dogwood are puffing out along with azaleas! Spring's *truly* here, and headed your way!
Just had to blow my trumpet...especially before my month free-trial Juno Dialup runs out today! Ha! Nice while it lasted...but Spring's eternal...I'm gonna E TURN ALL my beds and start planting!!!
I'll miss you and the blog...and all of it. Gratitude doesn't hold a candle to the grace here. See Y'all!
P.S. See ya next time aol runs a special! Haaaaa!
O: C:
Posted by: Tina Y. | March 20th, 2013 at 4:13 pm
Martha - what type of plant was used to create the standard topiaries in the background of picture 9? Beautiful blog, beautiful farm. Thanks for sharing and inspiring us daily.
Posted by: CG | March 20th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
How fortunate to have a greenhouse. Just seeing our first strawberry fruit here.
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | March 20th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Dear Martha,
Thanks for sharing...how wonderful to be able to grow veggie 4 seasons. May I ask what kind of green house did you buy or built? With short Growing season in Montana...that would come in handy. I should read more about Four Season Farm.
Posted by: Anh | March 20th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Oh Martha, you are so blessed to have that beautiful greenhouse and such wonderful garden produce with all that snow outside! Great Gardener Guys! I can only dream...
Posted by: Rock Artiste | March 20th, 2013 at 8:10 pm
hello Martha,what wonderful pictures of the vegetables grown in your greenhouse!simply stunning!a wonderful blessing to you to have the greenhouse and to grow vegetables in the dead of winter.enjoy each bite!
Posted by: maria | March 20th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
love your interesting blog! How do you deal with pollination in your greenhouse? I know in your magazine you mentioned some plants are made for indoor growing; but i see you have a wide range of veggies.
Posted by: Joanne | March 20th, 2013 at 10:08 pm
So wonderful and special to feed your dear grandchildren all this healthy produce. I truly wish you had a garden show...it seems there isn't anything notable to watch in this regard.
Posted by: Sherey | March 20th, 2013 at 10:27 pm
Thank you, Martha, for sharing these inspirational images of your four-season harvest with us.
Posted by: Carolyn Boyce | March 20th, 2013 at 11:34 pm
This is a fabulous idea!
Posted by: Nathan | March 21st, 2013 at 2:59 am
Great Job!
Thanks for sharing your greenhouse with all of us.
It would be great to have something like this to my place Athens.
Very interesting blog.
Posted by: τέντες Raftopoulos | March 21st, 2013 at 9:43 am
how wonderful to have such a bounty of good things...I imagine you share all these wonderful veggies with your family and employees....since giving is as wonderful as growing...enjoy your bounty and happy easter to you yours
Posted by: judy sanders | March 21st, 2013 at 9:46 am
Everything looked so good. Your gardner is pretty cute too! I would love to have a greenhouse. I am going to have to google some information on how to set one up and how to use one.
Posted by: Tori | March 21st, 2013 at 10:11 am
Wow, that's amazing! I'm so impressed by your bountiful harvest. Is it true that plants grown in a greenhouse aren't quite as mineral-packed as ones grown in direct sunlight? I've heard that the glass filters out certain kinds of rays which affects the plants' nutrition. But I imagine that eating all of that very fresh, local produce would be 10x healthier than opting not to eat them just because they were grown without direct sunlight. Just wondering. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Maren | March 21st, 2013 at 11:39 am
Hi Martha, This is such a wonderful idea. You can grow your vegetables all year long. Boy That would be a great thing to have. You are so inspiring and have such great ideas. I Love Your Blog!! Thank you so much for all the great pictures and ideas. I look forward to reading and seeing your farm everyday
Have a awesome day!
Ramona
Posted by: Ramona (North Carolina) | March 22nd, 2013 at 10:28 am
Wow! Are you all using any heat in the greenhouse ? What zone is this grown in?
Posted by: Gregg | March 23rd, 2013 at 1:35 pm
In reference to my previous post, I guess it's spelled lavendEr. (Insert chuckle here.) Wishing you, Alexis, Jude, Truman, and Kevin the happiest Easter this Sunday. We plan to head two hours north to my parents' home for a lonnng weekend. Will be candy hunting in their wonderful yard. They have a tree with a hollow spot at the base of the trunk that is perfect for hiding my sons' chocolate bunnies! When we return to SLC, I will start planning and plotting for some container vegetables on our balcony. Determined to try red and yellow cherry tomatoes and maybe strawberries, too. I also plan to have a kitchen windowsill garden featuring chives, rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, and maybe mint to use in Cranberry-Orange Relish. Your magazine and blog are a continued source of inspiration. Thanks.
Posted by: ValerieInSLC | March 27th, 2013 at 8:03 am