Fairmeadow Farm Hoop House

Helping our friend Michelle at Fairmeadow Farm as she assembled her really big 20 by 100 foot hoop-house, was a good trial-run for our own hoop-house construction, though we could put 10 of covered gardens under her roof, with plenty of room to navigate!).

Not long after erecting the cover, inside and out her crops looked sumptuous, as if carved out of marzipan, obediently lined into their rows, patiently waiting for harvest.

A winter CSA is quite a different animal from a summer operation. Along with the challenges of growing with radically reduced warmth and sunshine, our weather here is unpredictable and can be quite aggressive (as we saw two weeks ago when our sudden, very wet snowfall weighed-down our hoophouse to the degree that I thought it had collapsed, though it sprung right back into shape as I removed the snow - whew!)

We've had two Fairmeadow Farm pick-ups to date and thank goodness we're proceeding with work on our cold cellar.
Potatoes, carrots, white and red onions and garlic, mixed greens, spinach, leeks and radishes, pumpkins and gourds, celeriac and herbs. Brussel sprouts and cabbage ... so far.


Michelle posts recipes on her blog (like Martha does on the Orchard Hill blog), giving information, recipes and tips for enjoying the veggies we might not otherwise serve.

Winter never tasted so good!