A different way of growing
If you’ve followed us for any length of time, you know that we grow year-round in our hydroponic greenhouse. There, the plants spread up from their channels, kept perfectly fed by the water and nutrients we cycle past their roots.
But another greenhouse, right next door, also keeps greens happening all year. In what we affectionately call our “dirt house,” we grow everything from parsley and cilantro to towering dino kale and spinach in long raised beds. Sheltered from the elements, the plants in here thrive too. On Sunday, when I walked in to water them, the smell of it came over me like homecoming: rich and green, the underlying notes of soil and the compost we make right here on the farm.
It’s beautiful in here, too. That's a credit to Mariana, our farmyard manager, who pours beauty into everything she touches. Dark, rich colors stretch end to end. Overhead heaters keep it just above freezing in the winter nights, while the sun usually does enough to keep it there during the days.
Even in the middle of the winter, in here, we’re growing in soil. I’m inspired by that, when I stop to think about it. They take it slow, doing what they can, conserving their strength. I feel that same winter need to hunker down a little and spend my energy more intentionally. Just like the plants, though, growing slowly is still growing.
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-Farmer & Cultivator
