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Article: This fall we decided to try some cold weather, short day growing. Most of this growing will be with lettuce. Iceberg, romaine, arugula, mesclun mixes, and a gourmet lettuce are what come to mind. I especially want to grow the gourmet lettuce with my eye on possibly selling it if the results are good. Why lettuce? The first reason is that is does not require much heat - 40 to 50 F will do it for a lot of them. The short days of spring bring wonderful lettuce. I am sick of plastic lettuce through the winter and if I can pick some young, crispy leaves for my salad, so much the better. No tomatoes; they require too long a day and adding sufficient lighting to grow them is not economical here in New Hampshire. You can start pansies this time of year and hold them over to bring on in the spring. One of the fun parts of greenhouse growing is tricking plants into thinking they are older than they are. I can start some perennials and after they have good root growth, give them the cold treatment for 8 weeks, bring them on in February and viola, a second year plant which will bloom that season. Strawberries are a second-year harvest. Again, start the strawberries in the late summer. When they become decent sized plugs, plant them in a cold frame. Cover them well and make sure the cold frame is open so it does not warm up too much on a sunny day. Come spring, you have a strawberry crop. One of my favorite mentors at University of New Hampshire came up with a terrific strawberry tower that will increase the yield in your house many times over. He strung up 6 to 8 inch pots from a greenhouse frame, one under the other with approximately 12" between each one. I think he reinforced them with a dowel running through the pots to the ground. However you get them up and secure them, you will at least quadruple your harvest if not more. The strawberries cascade over the sides and are easy to pick. Just make sure the highest pot is not too high to reach to pick. I am going to try to do some culinary herbs. I am not sure of all the day length requirements but I do think basil, dill, chives, cilantro and parsley will do well. I love fresh herbs to cook with. Since we do mail order, many people would love a windowsill of potted herbs to snip into their dinners. If you have never tried Thai basil, you are depriving yourself. It has a very intense and clean flavor. I love Siam Queen, with her purple internodes and purple flowers. If I am creating a little dip for crudites, this basil goes a long way. We made a pesto and cream cheese dip for people to sample at Shaker Village Herb Day. We didn't have much left at the end of the day. You can check out Recipes Containing Pesto Sorted by the amount of Pesto, which is my kinda page. Hope I have triggered your imaginations. Go and grow.
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