High tunnels are not just a place for growing veggies on our farm, but also a great place to "grow" better ball players. The first game of catch for 2016. The Seals Family at Country Roads Produce wanted to give Iowa Food Coop customers an update about what’s happening at their farm. They’re cutting back on their sales through IFC for the next few cycles while they prep their high tunnel for the first crop of tomatoes. We thought we’d take the opportunity to give you a behind the scenes look into a veggie grower’s life.
Country Roads Produce has provided us with amazing, high quality produce throughout the winter, including carrots, Chinese cabbage, kohlbrabi, lettuce, and more. We know our customers (IFC staff included) have looked forward to fresh veggies from Country Roads’ heated high tunnel.
Baby tomatoes germinating in the greenhouse.
As consumers who have spent most of our lives shopping in conventional grocery stores it’s easy to forget that farmers grow food according to seasons and weather. At IFC we’re lucky to have several producers growing year-round in greenhouses and high tunnels, which means we can all enjoy fresh lettuce during a blizzard! The downside is that we have producers fall off for periods of time while they prepare for the next season. The old adage is really true in this case: A farmer’s work is never done.
High tunnels are not just a place for growing veggies on our farm, but also a great place to “grow” better ball players. The first game of catch for 2016.
While we’re sad we won’t see Country Roads Produce listing for the next few weeks, we are excited for what is to come. This summer they will have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, sweet corn, and cucumbers. They specialize in high tunnel tomato and pepper production, and hope their customers can enjoy a great tasting tomato in June. We can’t wait!
