Building an Ark for the Winter Greens

By Larch On November 7th, 2010

Some apprentices showed up in early fall and we framed up a new greenhouse.

Apprentices framing greenhouse

Framing the greenhouse

The greenhouse is forty feet long, eleven feet wide.

Framing the ridge of the greenhouse.

I’m totally happy with the way it turned out. An unheated greenhouse gives me the climate of New Jersey. The greens will freeze, but kale roots stay alive, and in the spring they will grow new tops (I intend to snap off frozen leaves and eat steamed greens all winter long), and in March and April I’ll be eating the new shoots. Stay tuned, and I’ll post some photos as the process continues.

Greenhouse packed wall-to-wall with transplanted greens.

Here’s a close-up. There are varieties of mustard, kale, and swiss chard included in this collection. Most of these plants have been transplanted from the garden. We’ve had a lot of rain, so the soil and the roots are very wet, and that means less transplanting shock. I trim the tops back when I transplant, to balance the temporary shock to the root systems caused by transplanting. The weather is cool, so there is no wilting. This photo was taken the same day I transplanted! My garden soil is primarily composed of composted seaweed, so these plants are extremely well-nourished and resistant to stress.
Greenhouse with transplants wall-to-wall.

Wall-to-wall kale, mustard, swiss chard.

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One Response to “Building an Ark for the Winter Greens”

  1. Robi Cherney, on April 26th, 2011 at 5:56 am Said:

    WOW! Thank you for sharing the beautiful recipes and great photos. Your knowledge, wisdom, and experience is a real treasure. Love the greenhouses and super healthy winter greens! You have inspired us to do what we can here with what we have! Keep up the terrific work. Will be following your blog! May you always be well! A Heart Full of Thanks! R. Cherney


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