Last Wednesday (pre-junket) I went to visit a greenhouse in Buffalo, Minnesota. The greenhouse is part of the alternative/technical high school in Buffalo, but was not being used this year. Two farmers rented the space to grow greens and plant starts.
Jeff Aldrich and his wife Mary Sue Stevens began planting greens in December and have been selling them at the Local Roots Food Co-op and local venues. This co-op is an unusual model, taking online orders for pick-up on distribution day. It is working somewhat like a food hub/farmer’s market hybrid. It is a great thing for the farmers, as they can post what they have available and bring exactly what they’ve sold. Jeff and Mary Sue have a model somewhat like mine– gardens scattered on the property and access to the greenhouse.
Dan has a 7-acre farm in Hutchinson and has used his greenhouse space to grow greens for clients in the Twin Cities and Hutchinson and to start plants for his CSA. On March 11, he was taking 72 large broccoli seedlings to transplant into his hoop house under another cover. He said they would be safe there unless it goes below 10 degrees outside. And though we do expect more snow before spring arrives for good, it will probably not go that low.
planting board row maker
At this point I have basic questions about greenhouses like how much does heat cost (way too much for us to consider heating our greenhouse through the winter) and how do you water (by hose) and how and what are you planting. Jeff, Mary Sue, and Dan are planting different types of lettuce in trays, without even using cells. They fill the trays with potting mix, stamp in rows with a piece of plywood with ridges on it, put some vermiculite on top of the seed, and there you go. They say you don’t need to thin if you plant in rows.
Dan was also taking some trays to harvest, wash, and package in 6-ounce bags of mixed greens.
My visit had been postponed because there was an infestation of aphids at the greenhouse. Aphids are the scourge of greenhouses, and of basically any warm, moist climate, I’m thinking. I had not seen aphids before, but they supposedly come in three types: yellow, green, and red. These were yellow. They are tiny and remind me of the little bugs that kill houseplants. (I have never had success growing houseplants.)
It is disheartening. Beneficial insects have been purchased and 
released: lacewings and ladybugs. The ladybugs seem to be mostly walking around checking out the space, or checking out each other and getting busy (wink wink), but not eating aphids. Maybe aphids are an aphrodisiac for ladybugs.
After visiting, I’d have to say it was hard to see an end game with the aphids. At that point Jeff and Mary Sue were harvesting whatever they could and trying to figure out what they were likely to lose and how to thoroughly clean the place, let the beneficials work, and then get started on the tomato and pepper planting. This may be another argument for shutting down a greenhouse for December 15 – February 15. Let every bad bug freeze to death.
I learned a lot in my short visit. My favorite thing by far was to see the trays of sunflower sprouts. Sunflower sprouts! They grow big, thick shoots in 10days that you can harvest and throw on salads or in a stir fry (think of the sunflower/tahini dressing possibilities) or just eat by the fistful. They definitely beat the wimpy sprouts I’ve been making in jars on my kitchen counter.