Deep Winter Greenhouse Production

Site for greenhouse and cabin we recently moved for future interns

We at Lida Farm are currently in our 10th year of vegetable production here in Otter Tail County.  Like any organization which reaches such a milestone, we began to ask ourselves what's next.  And, like many others who have been part of the local foods movement in the Upper Midwest, we've decided to extend our season to the extreme by building a deep winter greenhouse.  The idea is to build a structure which will allow us to grow some greens and crops which could do well not only is the cooler temperatures of winter, but the low light intensity as well.

Right now we have a really big hole in our backyard which is making us a bit nervous because it looks like a bigger project than we expected.  However, as soon as tomorrow we'll start framing a structure which will hold 10-inches of insulation in the walls and sit 5-feet below grade to take advantage of the constant moderate temperatures of the earth at that depth.  In the five feet below the soil, we'll have a network of tiling in rock and radiant floor tubing to keep the greenhouse above freezing, even through winters as nasty as the one we left behind in April.  Since we're digging a big hole in the hillside near our house, we also decided to incorporate a small root cellar as well - why not, right?  Our major plans are to offer a limited number of winter and fall CSA shares to provide members greens and storage root crops during the time of year we really crave some good produce.  

In this week's CSA box:
Sweet Corn: Hey, we made it!  It's a mix of varieties, including Bodacious (Yellow) and Luscious (a bi-color variety from organic seed)
A mix of tomatoes:  These are just starting to turn as well, but boy are we happy they are starting up.
Japanese Eggplant: These guys taste just like a standard Italian one and you prepare the same way.
Basil
Sweet Onion
Pepper: Most received a purple variety called Islander which tastes like a green one.  Others got a light-green variety called Biscayne
Summer Squash: Most received green zucchini, but some received a yellow type.

Recipe: Our suggestion is to simply grill everything.  Easy.  Delicious.  You can't go wrong.