A Visit to My Vegetable Greenhouse
It's always so great to start off the new year eating healthy, delicious, organic greens.
Here in the Northeast, it remains bitterly cold with temperatures only in the teens and low 20s at my Bedford, New York farm. My expansive outdoor vegetable garden is covered in snow and ice, but I'm fortunate to have lots of wonderful vegetables thriving in a special greenhouse located behind my Equipment Barn. We’ve already had several good harvests - it's gratifying to have such flavorful produce available even in the dead of winter.
Enjoy these photos.
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- The inside of my vegetable greenhouse is always toasty and warm. And during this time of year, there are many vegetables and herbs thriving in the rich, loamy beds.
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- This is what the garden beds looked like in mid-October. My gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, planted lettuce, spinach, carrots, bok choy and many others.
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- By late October, everything was flourishing. This year, I wanted to have only one main footpath, leaving as much space as possible for planting.
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- Now, all the beds are thriving with fresh, green, vibrant vegetables. These plants are grown organically and have no chemical taste at all.
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- I am a big fan of succession planting, which is rotating crops and recycling the space to ensure something is growing at all times. This dramatically increases a garden’s yield, while also improving produce quality.
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- The lettuce is so bright green.
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- It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long. This leafy lettuce has excellent flavor and texture.
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- There is also a lovely patch of tender, leafy spinach for my morning green juice.
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- Organic beets are a big favorite – sweet and tender – and one of the healthiest foods. Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.
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- The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, and mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable.
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- We also grow parsley, chervil and cutting celery. Here is our patch of parsley. Parsley, known for its use as a garnish, has many nutrients.
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- The nutrients include vitamins A, K, C, and E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and copper. The parsley looks so beautiful and lush green from above.
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- Here is the chard. The stalk colors are so vibrant. With stems of red, yellow, rose, gold, and white, this patch of vegetables is always a visual feast in the garden, and at the dinner table. Chard has highly nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets.
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- Bok choy or pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. It doesn’t form heads; instead, it has smooth dark green leaf blades that create clusters.
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- Bok choy is winter-hardy, and continues to grow in popularity.
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- Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is also known commonly as coriander or Chinese parsley. Coriander is actually the dried seed of cilantro. Cilantro is a popular microgreen garnish that complements meat, fish, poultry, noodle dishes and soups.
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- Everything looks so healthy. When harvesting, we always gently remove the surrounding earth first to see if the vegetables are big enough. If not, we push the soil back into place.
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- We also pick from the edges first, so the footpaths stay clear.
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- In the corner, I have potted papayas – look how many wonderful fruits are growing at the top of this tree.
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- I can’t wait to eat these gorgeous fruits – so fresh, and they’re grown right here at my farm.
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- On the other side of the greenhouse are my cucumber trellises. Our cucumbers are growing so nicely on these nets.
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- The vines grow up the trellises, and the mature cucumbers hang down from the net for easy harvesting. When it is time to harvest, the cucumbers will be pulled from the back of the frame.
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- Many people ask me what I do with all my many vegetables. I share my produce with my daughter and grandchildren, as well as friends and colleagues. I also use the fresh vegetables for my daily green juice. And, when needed, I bring them to the office for use in our photography shoots. I am so proud of this greenhouse. It will be a winter filled with delicious, fresh vegetables.
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