ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Southwest Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnership and Green Winter Gardens will host a public field day at a Deep Winter Greenhouse to demonstrate the production process and discuss ongoing horticultural and economic research results.
The field day will be held on Thursday, April 4, from 2-5 p.m. at Green Winter Gardens, 14309 289th Street, Cold Spring, MN 56320. The event includes presentations about Deep Winter Greenhouses and university research, hands-on workshops, and a tour and a question-and-answer period. The event is free to the public. RSVPs are requested at https://dwg_field_day_cold_spring.eventbrite.com
“Deep Winter Greenhouses represent a future of local foods that will come from innovations to expand markets and the production season,” said Greg Schweser, Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems for the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP).
Deep Winter Greenhouses allow small farmers to grow vegetable crops all year round. The unique design features a steeply sloped south-facing glazing wall that allows the maximum amount of solar radiation into the greenhouse on the coldest day of the year. That hot air is drawn underground into a heavily insulated bed of crushed rock where it is available for use to heat the growing space at night. Farmers are able to grow cold hardy, low light crops like lettuces, Asian greens, and brassicas with minimal use of external heat and lights.
This field day is part of a statewide Deep Winter Greenhouse project led by the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) and is funded by USDA’s North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. RSDP is connecting University of Minnesota researchers with DWG producers to study best growing options for DWG producers and to better understand the economics of small-scale DWG production.
RSDP provides information and resources on Deep Winter Greenhouses on its Deep Winter Greenhouse resource page: https://z.umn.edu/deepwintergreenhouse.
For questions or more information on the Deep Winter Greenhouse you can also reach out to the Stearns County Extension office 320-255-6169 extension 1 or visit www.extension.umn.edu. This article was written in conjunction with the Rural Sustainability Development Partnership and Greg Schweser.
— Katie Winslow, University of Minnesota Extension
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