The Resurrection

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Photos by Joe O’Grady

Mother Nature showed Holcomb Farm Greenhouse #4 who was boss back in February 2019.

Farmers are known to require skills that go well beyond planting and harvesting. Sophisticated knowledge of soil chemistry and its impact on nutrition come to mind. Mechanical skills are required to keep the equipment operating. And, of course, there is construction. To wit: back in February 2019, some serious wind, accompanied icy cold, did a number on Holcomb Farm’s Greenhouse #4 behind the CSA Barn on Simsbury Road. At the time, that greenhouse was home to fresh spinach, planted to round out the CSA winter shares. It was a big loss for our small farm.

Through that summer, during the spare time that no farm worker ever has, Todd Crevier led the disassembly work required to position us for the rebuild. Then… COVID. 

Now, a mere 27 months later, the rebuild is 80 percent complete, spearheaded by Assistant Farm Manager Tom Spatcher. As time permits, the work to cover the structure will be completed with the goal of having it ready to once again host spinach for the 2021-22 Winter CSA. Only now, this structure will be called Greenhouse #5. Longer term plans have us adding even more greenhouse capacity—this structure is destined to become #6—as we look to increase our Winter CSA capacity.

The rebuilding process: it took all of 2019 to prepare the greenhouse for a rebuild, and then COVID hit.