Eliot Coleman is one of my gardening heroes. At their farm in Maine, Coleman and his wife, garden writer Barbara Damrosch, have perfected the art of winter gardening. Coleman wrote an article recently for Mother Earth News about constructing and growing in low tunnels, and it's a must-read for anyone who's trying to grow more of their own food.
We grew a few crops in low tunnels last winter, and I am preparing the beds now for our winter garden. While Coleman's article focuses mainly on crops to plant now for spring harvest, in my garden I planted several greens that love cool weather, such as kale, spinach, and mache, and was able to harvest a little something throughout the winter. We harvested fresh, sweet carrots in March, and enjoyed the occasional salad or spinach dish during our coldest months.
I'm increasing the amount of space devoted to low tunnels this winter, in the hopes that we'll not grow enough food for salads all winter, but also be able to harvest carrots, beets, and peas. Growing food during the winter has replaced my typical winter past-time of poring over seed catalogs and cursing the weather. For the most part, anyway.
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