Treat Them Carefully and Eat Them Quickly…the words of a wise man- Jack
Greetings CSA Members!
A bit of backstory, then some very useful information for you about baby lettuce mixes that will be in your box this coming week.
For several years in the early 2000's- before the 2007 flood that forced us to relocate to our current location- Featherstone Farm DID have a couple of high tunnels, in which we grew tomatoes in the summer and spinach in the winter. We had mixed results, but the flood caused us to abandon those tunnels before we got really good at growing anything in "indoors".
Fast forward to 2019 when the modern era of high tunnel production resumed at our new location in Rushford. We had to start essentially from scratch, (re)learning some of the very specific management techniques that produce good crops in this enclosed environment. We did reasonably well with summer tomatoes those first few years, and of course winter spinach. But we did not have enough space inside tunnels- or management time and attention- to experiment with things like salad mix or fresh herbs... until now!!
So here we are in the spring of 2024, with a third of an acre of high tunnels all planted in salad crops, bunching greens and herbs, snap peas and I'm sure other things that master grower Abby Benson is experimenting with, that I have forgotten about. All these crops await you in the next 2-3 weeks of spring share boxes. As a consumer of fresh greens from these tunnels, I am (re) learning myself, what makes these crops so unique. So unlike "similar" products that we all know and love (or don't!!) that we can buy in clear plastic bathtubs in every produce section from your local co-op right up to Wal Mart.
So here's the difference, as I see it now (my understanding can and and likely will change as we experiment more, and I observe more how these crops come out of the tunnels): whether we are talking about baby lettuce mixes or bunched kale, or anything in between (herbs, Bok choy, radish tops...), pretty much anything grown and harvested in the high tunnels in the months of April and May is going to be extraordinarily tender and perishable. NOT like the cardboard crunchy, super durable salads that come in the bathtubs from the Imperial Valley in CA .This is because (my current interpretation, anyway!) of a combination of the tunnel environment and the season. Specifically, the sun is so high in the sky this time of year, plants in the tunnels are growing way faster than they would in, say, late September or October. And because they are completely protected from wind, rain and the other harsh realities of a Minnesota spring (May snow!!), they do not "toughen up" as they grow, as they would in the field.
And HERE, at long last(!), is your "useful information" about the mixed lettuces in your box next week: treat them carefully and eat them quickly. These lettuces simply will not last long if exposed to heat, or sunshine, or even airflow circulating in your refrigerator. ALL the high tunnel crops in April and May boxes (save the peas, I think) are likely to be this way: uniquely tender and flavorful. But super perishable.
It is possible that, as we learn more about high tunnel production- and as we invest in warehouse equipment to "triple wash" and dry salad mixes for CSA shares- that we can find ways to make April and early May greens a bit hardier. I think it is very likely these very same crops, grown in the same soil in the same tunnels for Winter shares in November and December- WILL be much hardier, due only to lower light levels (slower growth in cooler soil). But we are all learning as we go, and that's what makes the "new era" of high tunnel production at Featherstone Farm so darn exciting.
Gratefully
Jack