A Look Inside My Vegetable Greenhouse
Delicious, organic greens are thriving in my vegetable greenhouse.
While my outdoor grounds crew continues with winter chores around the farm, my gardeners, Ryan and Gavin, turn their attention to my vegetable greenhouse located behind my Equipment Barn. Inside, there are lots of wonderful vegetables at different stages of growth. We practice succession planting in order to keep the produce coming. This process involves following one crop with another in order to maximize a garden's yield. It's so gratifying to have such flavorful produce available even in the dead of winter.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I love this greenhouse – its construction in 2008 was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming. It uses minimal artificial heat – in fact, most of its energy comes directly from the sun, and it successfully grows a variety of cold-hardy crops.
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- During the winter months, my gardeners keep a good eye on this vegetable greenhouse – temperatures are monitored and the beds are kept clean and weed-free.
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- Here’s Ryan planting the beds in December. We spend a good amount of time preparing the soil before planting any seeds. This includes cleaning the beds and adding organic, nutrient-rich compost. Last year, I decided to build and install 16 garden boxes for our indoor vegetable crops. These boxes keep the space tidy and provide protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
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- Recently, we also put down a fresh layer of gravel between the beds.
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- I like to use a small-size natural colored gravel.
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- Inside this greenhouse, I also have a sizable head house. A head house is a separate room that serves as the work center without sacrificing the valuable growing area within the greenhouse itself. This room is often used for storage, planting preparations, and potting.
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- The structure is filled with big windows, which can be programmed to open for ventilation or cooling when needed. The greenhouse is also outfitted with fans to circulate the air during warmer months.
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- A thermometer is located on one wall – in a visible spot where temperatures can be checked several times a day.
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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. Here is a crop of arugula. Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable that provides many of the same benefits as broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts. Arugula leaves, also known as rocket or roquette, are tender and bite-sized with a tangy flavor.
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- Celtuce, also called stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce, is a cultivar of lettuce grown primarily for its thick stem or its leaves. It is especially popular in both mainland China and Taiwan, where the stem is interchangeably called qingsun or wosun.
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- Mache greens, Valerianella locusta, are cold-weather salad greens. The sweet, slightly nutty leaves are tender and juicy. Not only does mache go by the name corn salad green, but it is sometimes referred to as lamb’s lettuce or fetticus. Corn salad greens are high in vitamins B and C, iron, folic acid and potassium.
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- Celery is part of the Apiaceae family, which includes carrots, parsnips, parsley, and celeriac. Its crunchy stalks make the vegetable a popular low-calorie snack with a range of health benefits.
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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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- Here’s a closer look at one of the growing radishes. These are not quite ready yet, but 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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- Kale is a popular vegetable, a member of the cabbage family, Brassica oleracea. It is related to cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. There are many different types of kale – the leaves can be green or purple in color, and have either smooth or curly shapes.
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- And here is a bed of growing turnips – root vegetables that are commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word turnip is a compound of “tur” as in turned or rounded on a lathe and “neep” derived from the Latin napus, the word for the plant.
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- The Swiss chard stalk colors are so vibrant with stems of red, yellow, rose, gold, and white. Chard has very nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets. Swiss chard is a tall leafy vegetable that’s part of the goosefoot family – aptly named because the leaves resemble a goose’s foot.
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- This vegetable also has a colorful stem – beets. These are 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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- Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as herbs or spices for flavoring food.
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- And this is chervil ‘Vertissimo’ – a winter-type herb with green leaves. It has a mild, sweet anise flavor and is popular for salads, micro-greens, and garnishing – it is one of my favorite culinary herbs.
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- Many people ask me what I do with all my many vegetables. I always share my produce with my daughter and grandchildren, as well as friends and colleagues. I also use fresh vegetables for my daily green juice. And, when needed, I bring them to the office for use in our photoshoots. I am so proud of this greenhouse and all the wonderful greens that grow inside from year to year.
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