Give it a Rest?! Pocono Organics Greenhouses Keep Growing

While late fall and winter are relatively quieter days when it comes to agriculture compared to spring and summer outdoors; Pocono Organics still sticks to soil sustainability practices with a variety of things growing in the Long Pond farm’s 38,000 square foot greenhouse space inside.

Cover crops like oats, peas, hairy vetch, tillage radish, and clover give soil a “rest” and help improve soil fertility in various ways. Additionally, many cover crops will grow at lower temperatures, enabling us to conserve energy over the coldest months.   

“Cold weather” crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach, lettuce, peas, arugula, broccolini, carrots, and kale continue through winter. Mushrooms, plus, nutrient dense Microgreens are in production to go into our market and café dishes too! 

Outdoor production pivots. From pruning lavender and strawberries, to planting garlic plus cover crops, the work doesn’t stop. This prepares fields for the freeze and readies rows for another spring and summer where we grow!

Toward the end of winter, Pocono Organics’ farm team rotates crops, terminates cover crops, and begins our earliest plantings that will yield a spring harvest.  By the time March comes around, we’ll be planting warmer weather crops in the greenhouse ground including tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant to continue our repeat steps for you some more.

Follow farm updates including blog and social media posts all year through.

Did you know schools can download educational in-class collateral too? https://www.poconoorganics.com/education