US (MI): Winter farmers' markets gaining popularity

Winter farmers' markets in Michigan have grown in size the last few years. Even with summer over and moving well into Winter some farmers are still growing hardy crops in the cold, and helping to build a growing winter farmers’ market phenomenon.

One farmer, Rebecca Titus' farm contains a hoop house with a series of overarching metal pipes covered in thick plastic sheeting. It's an example of passive solar energy capture.

“Here’s a secondary cover you can see here that’s inside the hoop house,” she says. “There’s actually two layers, so that you get a little more heating in the secondary layer. But you also have to grow crops that survive colder weather.”

Crops like spinach and baby lettuce. Titus is growing kale one hoop house over. It’s simple solutions like this that are enabling farmers from Michigan and other cold weather states to grow more local produce in what would otherwise be off-season.

Farm manager Christine Miller says the market continues to grow each winter, both in the number of vendors and the selection of produce and she is optimistic it will continue.

source: wkar.org