Friday, February 1, 2013

Growing Vegtables in the Winter

I work at a community college in the Finger Lakes: Cayuga Community College.  We have two campuses, one in Auburn, NY and one in Fulton NY.  Both experience heavy snowfall,  and lately, it has been very cold.  But while the temperature outside hit 9 degrees Fahrenheit last week, the temperature inside our High Tunnel Greenhouse was a balmy 40 degrees.  The soil was 38 degrees.  This greenhouse, built with grant funds from the Walmart Corporation, is a collaborative project the college is undertaking with a local agency called the Cayuga/Seneca Action Agency.  The food grown in the greenhouse will be donated to a local food pantry.  We are growing shallots, garlic, and bok choy and they are sprouting!  Here is a picture taken in January 2013.