Rooftop Greenhouses in Manhattan: The journey is the reward

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After finishing up at Stone Barns in June, I was facing a 2 month gap before I was slated to head up north to work Four Seasons Farm in Maine, home of Eliot Coleman, Barbara Damrosch and their crew.   During a conversation and rooftop tour with Manhattan restauranteur Eli Zabar, I learned of his excitement regarding a new greenhouse project he was looking to build on one of his Vinegar Factory rooftops here in New York City  I had just spend a lot of time working in a unique and massive greenhouse up in Westchester, but I had yet to develop a greenhouse of my own.  Nevertheless, a little bit of faith from Eli and problem solving, for the last 8 weeks, I have been creating and developing...

Transplanting Beets: Proof

Here you can see the transplanted beets are standing back up straight and tall. Still amazed that even after disrupting the taproot, the beets manage to survive.

Although this is probably not too practical in a typical growing setting, I think it shows that every production is different and being able to understand the plants we are working with allows us to be creative and adjust as needed.  To me farming is an...