our own january salad
Posted: January 28, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: high tunnel, hoop house, low tunnel, winter greens Leave a comment »
Just picked this salad yesterday from our low tunnel! Just one layer of plastic over hoops and the lettuce looks great. It hasn’t grown much since we covered the beds in late fall, but we sure don’t have to worry about it bolting. The tunnel acts like a big winter storage unit, keeping the greens ready whenever we need them. The amazing thing is that the lettuce freezes under there, looking completely inedible, but when the temperature warms up it bounces right back. The trick is to harvest only when the leaves are not frozen or else you end up with an unappetizing pile of mush!
This has been a good learning year for the hoophouse crops. Some things I planted way too late, and they didn’t make enough growth before the cold set in, like carrots and radishes. Other crops, like spinach, just keep on growing. And I’ve already started some plants inside that will be transplanted out in a few weeks for early spring, including lettuce, kale and chard.
