Inside My Vegetable Greenhouse

December 15, 2020

My outdoor garden beds are cleared, cleaned, and ready for winter, but fresh, delicious vegetables are growing beautifully indoors - in a special greenhouse I had constructed several years ago that was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming.

My gardeners, Ryan and Brian, began planting in my vegetable greenhouse earlier this fall, and over the last few weeks, we’ve seen wonderful crops of beautiful organic produce emerge.

Enjoy these photos.

: This is the exterior of my Vegetable Greenhouse. It is located near my Equipment Barn next to the Hay Barn and Tropical Hoop House. This structure uses minimal artificial heat, where many cold hardy crops, such as root vegetables and brassicas, can be grown and harvested through the winter months.

: We spend a good amount of time preparing the soil before planting. This includes cleaning the beds and adding organic, nutrient-rich compost. This year, I decided to use compost-based potting soil mix from the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Vermont. This soil is specifically developed for organic gardening. It is a germination and growing mix often used for soil blocks – this is their Fort Vee potting mix.

: In October, Ryan planted various seeds. These are lettuce seeds. I am very fortunate to have the room to plant many different vegetables indoors during winter. This season we planned for kale, spinach, lettuce, carrots, beets and many others. I share my vegetables with my daughter and grandchildren, but I also like to grow them for my delicious green juice.

: He also planted various seedlings, which were started in my main greenhouse.

: We built 16 of these wooden garden boxes last year. They fit the entire length and width of the space. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.

: By mid-November, we already had lots of fresh greens growing so beautifully. All my plants are grown organically and have no chemical taste at all.

: Here is a wider view of the beds. They are planted at different times as part of succession planting, a practice of seeding crops at intervals of seven to 21 days in order to maintain a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. I am a big fan of succession planting. This dramatically increases a garden’s yield, while also improving produce quality.

: In this bed – beets. Beets 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.

: These beets are “Detroit Dark Red” – a very popular and versatile beet that is rich in color and texture.

: I love fresh lettuce. It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long. This lettuce is called “Salad Bowl” – an ideal lettuce variety for the home vegetable garden. It forms large green rosettes of delicate, tender leaves.

: Butter lettuce is a type of lettuce that includes Bibb lettuce and Boston lettuce. It’s known for loose, round-shaped heads of tender, sweet leaves and a mild flavor.

: ‘Red Cross’ lettuce has large, fancy, bright heads that are suitable for spring, summer, and fall crops.

: Endives are vegetables belonging to the genus Cichorium. Species include Cichorium endivia, Cichorium pumilum, and Cichorium intybus. Common chicory includes types such as radicchio, puntarelle, and Belgian endive.

: 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.

: The ‘Triple Curled’ parsley has beautifully intense triple curled leaves with dark green stems that look great as a garnish. Parsley is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.” It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it’s established.

: This is Cilantro ‘Cruiser’ which has a tidier, more upright plant habit than other varieties. Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is also known commonly as coriander or Chinese parsley. Coriander is actually the dried seed of cilantro. Cilantro is a popular micro-green garnish that complements meat, fish, poultry, noodle dishes, and soups.

: The frilly fronds of frisee are bitter with a bit of crunch, which adds dimension and texture to both salads and sandwiches.

: Kale 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. This is ‘Winterbor’ – the plants are tall, growing up to three feet, with excellent yield and good cold hardiness.

: Both the root and the leaves of the turnip are edible. The leaves have a taste similar to mustard greens but with a less intense spicy flavor. Fresh leaves contain lots of vitamin-C. Turnips are smooth flat-round and white vegetables that mature early and are best harvested young – when they are up to two inches in diameter. The flavor is sweet and fruity, and the texture is crisp and tender. 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.

: I also grow a lot of spinach. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2.

: The carrots need a little more time, but they’re all coming in quite nicely. Ryan planted “Danvers Half Long” carrots – rich, dark orange heirloom carrots that grow six to eight inches long. They’re so delicious.