Mill River — Most local farmers take the winter off to refresh themselves, to rejuvenate and prepare for the next year’s season. But Jan Johnson, owner of Mill River Farm, is using this winter to perfect growing a variety of lettuces for restaurants and farmers markets.
Using the techniques developed by the legendary Eliot Coleman, Johnson is one of very few farmers in the northeast to grow during the winter. “His techniques are not difficult, and they’re not necessarily expensive,” she says. With a small investment, a farmer can put a double cover on an outside bed, which insulates against the cold. Then plant cold-hardy vegetables in September that reach maturity by mid-November, when the darkness and cold weather set in, and voila! You can get a good winter harvest. Then just hold them until you want to pick them. This is season extension at its simplest.
Johnson thinks she is lucky to have found Eliot Coleman’s “The Four Season Harvest” early on. Coleman’s farm in Maine is a combination of hoop houses (also known as high tunnels), low tunnels, and open beds. His winter production is limited to the structures. Johnson calls Coleman an “intuitive grower,” with a genius for record keeping and observation. His explanations help make farmers effective and efficient at growing vegetables all year long.
Although lettuces, Asian greens, arugula, and spinach must reach maturity before it gets terribly cold and dark, they can withstand cold once they are mature. Nonetheless, Johnson added “a little bit of heat” to her greenhouse, which has allowed her to vastly expand her crops. “We installed a small heater thermostat set at 37 that gives us a 20 degree difference over the outside temperature.” By helping to control the internal temperature of the greenhouse, plants that would otherwise remain dormant grow happily. The heated greenhouse also opens up a new category of plants that can tolerate darkness but not frost. “So we’re growing not just lettuce, but kale, chard, and mustards. And I’m now adding radishes, leeks, and misuma.”
Johnson points out that plants need at least 10 hours of daylight to grow robustly. I interviewed her on January 17 when daylight was 9 hours 28 minutes, reaffirming the necessity for a light supplement in the winter months that have the shortest days.
Johnson has planted seven rows of low tunnels at Mill River Farm. They are knee-high hoops with two layers of covers. The outer layer is greenhouse plastic. The inner one is spun polyester remay. She anchors them with sandbags. The tunnels extend all the way across three fields, or for about 120 yards. “You just pull back the tunnel cloth and harvest what’s inside.”
Johnson’s seven beds work well, but the footpaths are a bit too wide. “We used to water with hoses, but that’s too uneven. So I invested $185 for overhead watering.” It is a low-flow system, 7 feet from the ground, with little tiny sprinkler heads that gives complete coverage over the greenhouse. “Uneven watering is bad,” says Johnson, “and this is the most efficient way to do it.”
At the mid-January farmers market sponsored by Berkshire Grown, Johnson sold out of cut salad in the first hour of the market, and sold out of fresh spinach in 75 minutes. Now she knows how much to bring for the February 13 market. “I know that people like the convenience of prepared salad.” She finds the lettuce, spinach, and arugula all grow well in tunnels.
Johnson will have fresh vegetables all winter. She sells them to her usual clients, such as schools and restaurants. Right now, she’s selling all she’s growing. But the caveat here is twofold: “We work awfully hard to find buyers, and as a beginning farmer, work is only half done once you’ve figured out how to grow something of quality.” Marketing takes an enormous amount of time and persistence. Connecting with the buyers is quite time-consuming , and for her is the most painful part of farming. “It’s difficult to make those connections,” she says.
Johnson is blunt about her prices. “People looking for lettuce at the lowest price will never buy my produce.” She acknowledges that from a health standpoint, there’s some essential information that she and others of like mind haven’t been able to communicate.
She notes that irrespective of one’s food philosophy, vegetables lose their nutritional quality as soon as they’re separated from their roots. And foods grown without chemicals have better health consequences. Unfortunately, though, even with the last decades’ emphasis on fresh food, most consumers still shop with price rather than health consequences in mind. “We’re well served to pay more attention to nutritional quality of food we’re eating.”
For Johnson, her farm is about personal nutrition, environmental health, and the local economy. “The more successful my farm is, the more people are employed.” She goes local with everything she can, including legal and financial help. “I can’t wait for the local grain mill,” she says. “There’s no question that keeping money here benefits everybody. “
Johnson is always looking for new ways to grow and sell. “If we can’t figure out how to do it on a better than break-even basis, then we’ll have to figure out what’s wrong.” She pays her workers above minimum wage because she wants to hang on to them. And she’s always looking for new ways to sell her products. Beginning this week, you can buy eggs and fresh greens at her farm stand. Check it out. You won’t be sorry.
