As frigid temperatures settle into our mountain communities, the last thing most of us are thinking about is gardening. But many folks are laughing at winter and producing fresh vegetables and herbs in greenhouses. With a little planning, they say, winter greenhouse gardening is a viable option for our area.

Local farms—including Banner Greenhouses in Nebo (bannergreenhouses.com), Fields of Gold Farm & Greenhouse in Mills River (fieldsofgoldfarm.com), and Black Bottom Greenhouses in Swannanoa (black-bottomgreenhouse.com)—are producing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, and a variety of fresh herbs through the cold weather months.

Jeff Mast of Banner Greenhouses, which traditionally grows and sells pesticide-free flowers, has retrofitted a one-acre greenhouse for winter to expand its growing season and diversify its offerings. “We have been able to produce approximately 350 cases a week of tomatoes and peppers that we are selling to local restaurant distributors, Earth Fare, and area restaurants,” he says. At Banner Greenhouses, they’ve installed night thermal curtains, an insulating cover mounted under the ceiling that provides extra protection for the colder temperatures. “We are hoping to expand next year,” he adds.

Jeff admits winter gardening does come with extra costs, heating being the biggest outlay. But he says there are lower cost options for the smaller farmer.

At Fields of Gold Farm & Greenhouse, Lisa Black specializes in Certified ‘Beyond’ Organic and Bio- Dynamic food. In her state-of-the-art glass greenhouse, she’s growing cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, strawberries, and plant starts. Classical music is piped throughout the greenhouse to help reduce plant stress, and the environment is controlled by computer. Running a large-scale operation the size of Lisa’s is costly.

She encourages others to start out small and get a good base understanding of the process before jumping into it. Be conscientious and do as much implementing and conversion to ecologically friendly energy sources from the beginning. Starting a community greenhouse where costs are shared among several people also could be a viable option for year-round produce.

Other cost-effective solutions for making your winter greenhouse efficient are insulating the walls of freestanding greenhouses. If you live in a sunny area, insulate the east and/or west walls and start with the side that gets the prevailing winter wind. Consider insulating the foundation with Styrofoam board about one to two inches thick. Double or triple glazing (the greenhouse skin) the greenhouse makes it more energy efficient and goes a long way in keeping heat in and cold out.

Thermal mass is another inexpensive option. Using 55-gallon drums filled with water and placed along the sunny side of the greenhouse is an easy way to store heat. Make sure to eliminate any drafts and possibly install a second door that creates an air-lock entry.

The goal is to find ways to provide access to fresh foods year-round. Whether you’re a commercial farmer or the neighborhood gardening guru, winter greenhouse gardening is worth looking into.

Check out the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project website (asapconnections.org) for local farms with winter greenhouse offerings.