I hope you had a peaceful holiday season, however that looks for you this year. I spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas with my sister in St. Paul, away from our family. A hard choice but one that felt safer for our parents and grandparents in Iowa. Over both holidays we enjoyed veggies from Featherstone and meat from friends who raise sustainable pork and beef just down the road. In the midst of everything going on in the world right now, it feels good to cook meals for our families with ingredients that support the community and the health of the land.
This winter it's been really nice to utilize more fresh greens from our high tunnels in those meals. It's almost funny how excited I've been to toss handfuls of freshly trimmed and washed, dark green spinach into winter soups or onto a plate for salad. The sweetness and texture of our winter spinach is out of this world, and something my family almost doesn't recognize as spinach after years of eating flavorless baby greens from California.
This is our second year growing through the winter in our high tunnels and we made a lot of changes to the layout, which have already provided a lot more greens than last year. We made beds much wider and squeezed in more rows. We picked one tunnel completely in November, leaving the growing tips to continue sizing up for a February harvest. One tricky part of winter growing with no supplemental heat is that you have to be very calculated with when to harvest. If we experience a long cold and cloudy period, the plants may not sufficiently thaw out for harvest. As most things in farming, it's a calculated risk and we work with hope for the best outcome (ie the most greens possible for you!).
We already have another 30x140' in the works for more greens next year (and tomatoes this summer!) and I'm excited for the future as we continue to push the seasons and provide delicious local greens all winter long. I hope you've been enjoying them as much as we are down on the farm!
Cheers & Happy New Year,
Abby Benson
Field Production Coordinator
