Growing vegetables in winter was once reserved for gardeners and farmers in warmer climates such as Califiornia and Florida. But with years of experimenting under our belts and poineers, such a Eliot Coleman, trailing varieties of greens, root crops and other plants under grow tunnels and unheated greenhouses, it's now feasible to grow produce year round even in a cold climate such as Vermont. The beauty of these systems is many of them are low input. You don't need a heated greenhouse all winter to grow beautiful greens for the table or market.
NOFA-Vermont (Northeast Organic Farming Association) has been sponsoring research on farms across the state to trial growing different vegetables through the winter using different growing methods. NOFA-Vermont provided farmers with grants from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE-SARE) program to 8 farmers in 2009.
Some of the finding were applicable to home gardeners wanting to grow some tasty greens and veggies all winter in their yards. For example, farmers found that row covers on hoops consistently produced warmer air temperatures around vegetables if the covers were placed 2 feet above the crop as opposed to 1 foot. Watering early in the day on sunny days increased soil temperatures in the beds. Lettuce grown under two row covers was 1/3rd larger in size than lettuce grown under only one row cover.
For more information about this grant and the full results, go to Winter Growing Research Results.
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