Growing salad greens to order 365 days a year with minimal heat in Zone 4.

View the project final report

Commodities

• Vegetables: greens (leafy)

Practices

• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, marketing management, feasibility study, agricultural finance, market study, value added
• Pest Management: cultural control, integrated pest management, prevention, row covers (for pests), sanitation
• Production Systems: general crop production
• Soil Management: organic matter
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, partnerships, analysis of personal/family life, employment opportunities, sustainability measures

Current Office of Aging nutritional guidelines mandate that meals for seniors have increased nutritional density, and this has led to a directive that salads be made from dark leafy greens as opposed to iceberg lettuce. To respond to this market opportunity, the farmer will test whether greens can be grown year-round in Zone 4 using cold-tolerant varieties and low greenhouse temperatures.