Elliot Coleman, progenitor of four season farming refers to these winter months as “the Persephone months” when the only growth that occurs is in cold frames and their movable greenhouses. I always think of that greek myth as one the greatest feminist stories. As her daughter was abducted and taken to the underworld, Demeter, goddess of the harvest and sacred law, had the power to stop all things from growing until Persephone was returned to her, their reunion manifesting Spring each year.  These months of inward reflection and gestation are integral to our heavily seasonal work. The feverish creativity, farming and design that happens in our studio and on our farm would never be possible without this period of being on ice…

I recently got to visit my good friends Katie Prochaska and Mike Bollinger who are forging the path for the future of food on their four season River Root farm in Decorah. They had just re-located their farm and finished setting up these 5 massive cold frames you can see in the distance. These unheated, movable greenhouses allow them to plant in crops in August which remain in the ground, fresh and full of their nutritive value naturally refrigerated and using no power whatsoever, for their winter CSA clients to eat anytime throughout the winter.  Below you can see Mike in a cold frame full of the most exquisite carrots I’ve ever tasted… wonder if we could do something similar for our early winter clients…