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Local Farmers Producing Winter Crop of Spinach
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) -- Despite the not very vegetable-friendly weather, the walk-in refrigerator at downtown Bloomington's Common Ground grocery store recently contained a tub of spinach.

The cravings of those who desire spinach can be met because PrairiErth Farm is among a growing number of Central Illinois farms extending their growing seasons with "hoop houses."

The greenhouses allow farmers to grow vegetables like lettuce and spinach year-round.

This is PrairiErth's first winter of hoop-house production, with about half of a structure 26 feet by 48 feet currently carpeted by lettuce and spinach.

The hoop house is covered by two layers of plastic, inflated to produce an insulated effect like double-pane windows in a house. Captured sunlight warms the interior.

It allows the farm to fill an off-season niche in the local food marketplace.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
02 22 11 by Newsroom
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