From root veggies to microgreens: Finding fresh produce in the winter
HOLLAND — Although Michigan is known for summer bounties of berries, melons, fruits and veggies, innovations in growing and temperature-controlled storage allow farmers to offer greens and roots year-round.
Farmers that grow for a small, local market have the luxury of paying closer attention to quality and flavor. For instance, rather than pull their carrots as soon as they're the right size, they can keep them stored in the ground, waiting until the first frost to harvest.
Why? Vegetables like carrots, spinach, cabbage, and kale have built-in defenses against frost, converting available starches into sugar, which keeps the water in their cells from freezing. As a result, these vegetables are the sweetest — and tastiest — when harvested after they’ve endured a frost.
A large factor contributing to the superior flavor and nutrition of locally grown food is soil health. Many local farmers also forgo the use of chemical/synthetic inputs that kill the bacteria and fungi that plants need to thrive. As a result, their healthy, lively soil is packed with micro-nutrients that plants need to grow year-round. Healthy soil equals healthy plants equals healthy people!
Your farmer is the best person to ask about their growing practices and the measures they're taking to care for the soil.
If you’re now eager to buy fresh and local, here’s produce available locally through the winter and how it’s grown:
Roots: Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets, radish, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, garlic, onions, and turnips. Most roots available in the winter are harvested in the fall and stored in temperature-controlled spaces. Depending on farm infrastructure, roots can also be grown year-round in heated greenhouses and harvested fresh for market. If you see local roots with their greens in the winter, most likely they were grown in a heated greenhouse.
Greens: Cabbage, kale, spinach, arugula, spring/winter mixes, mustard greens, collards, and Brussels sprouts. Most greens are grown in unheated hoop houses or heated greenhouses.
Winter Squash: Butternut, delicata, and kabocha are the most common varieties available in the winter. Winter squash is harvested in the fall and stored in a temperature-controlled space. If they're without blemish at harvest, winter squash have a shelf-life of about six months.
Microgreens: Microgreens are young seedlings of various vegetables and herbs. Often used as a garnish or tossed into a salad, microgreens can be grown year-round indoors with the help of grow lights. Common varieties are arugula, pea shoots, sunflower shoots, broccoli, and radish, but often varieties are mixed.
Dry Beans: Buying dry beans might sound like a hassle, but if you source your beans from a local producer, you’ll be floored by their quality, texture, and flavor. Dry beans are harvested in late summer and are shelf-stable, best stored in a cool, dry place.
Mushrooms: Since cultivated mushrooms are most commonly grown indoors, they're available year-round.
Fruits: Some fruit farmers in Michigan grow long-season, storable apple varieties. My favorite storage apples are Evercrisp, a mashup of Honeycrisp and Fuji.
Local growers like Eighth Day Farm, Visser Farms, St. Steve’s, Mycophile’s Garden, Skinner Farm and Shady Side Farm sell vegetables and dry-goods at the Holland Farmers Market. Get to know your farmer for guidance on how to prepare their product, for tips on growing your own food, and for other ways to plug into the local food community.
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Holland Farmers Market hours January-April are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. the first and third Saturdays of the month at the Holland Civic Center. May-November market hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday.
— Brooke DiCicco is the market and distributions manager at Eighth Day Farm. Eighth Day grows fresh vegetables for its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, for the Holland Farmers Market, and for local partners addressing food insecurity in West Michigan.
About This Series:MiSustainable Holland is a collection of community voices sharing updates about local sustainability initiatives.This Week’s Sustainability Framework Theme: Community Knowledge: The collective knowledge and energy of the community is an incredible resource that must be channeled to where it's needed.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: From root veggies to microgreens: Finding fresh produce in the winter
