Larry Pletcher runs a small organic farm up on Kearsarge Mountain Road in Warner, NH. He’s one of the several local farmers who’ve scaled up to the point where they’ve gone commercial: for my purposes, “commercial” means trying to make a profit, or even a living, from selling what you grow. Larry retired from his day job in the NH court system a few years ago to put most of his time into farming, but he’s also a writer with a number of books on the shelf including Hiking New Hampshire.
In November, 2008, he decided that growing stuff during the six warm months of the year begged the question of why any smart guy would waste the thin sunshine of the other six months just because the ground was generally frozen down a few feet and covered with snow. So he built a big (as yet unheated) greenhouse, and planted greens like bok choy swiss chard that don’t mind too much if the temp drops below freezing at night.
And his CSA (community supported agriculture) customers were thrilled to hear that they could get local greens for the first time in the late winter and early spring, right here in Warner.
I’ve heard rumors that Larry is looking into heating the greenhouse next year with compost, and I’ll ask him about that the next time I see him. But take a look at this video clip to see where Larry, his two assistants and his vegetables were in late January.
