Brines grows organic lettuces and spinach throughout the winter inside an unheated greenhouse called a high tunnel or a hoop house.

"Salad greens, mustard greens -- whatever he has is something I could eat in a fresh salad," says Zuccaro, 48, who works in the University of Michigan's dental pathology lab.

The appetite for local organic produce appears robust this fall because of September reports of E. coli contamination in bagged spinach from California.

Some niche growers like Brines Farm in Dexter are using high tunnels as a way to continue the growing season indoors.

"It's awesome in January when you have something that tastes so fresh and green," Zuccaro says.

Brines' high tunnel has a wood-and-steel frame covered with two layers of plastic, the air between them adding insulation.

The covering lets in light and holds heat, keeping soil and air warm enough so cold-tolerant plants like lettuce and spinach stay alive and leaves can be picked all winter.

Brines, 31, is a geographic information systems specialist who maps things like sprawl at U-M. He's also an organic grower who writes a blog called "Know Your Farmer" on his Web site at

He says high tunnel production could work for other growers, providing crops and revenue off-season for those in agriculture, Michigan's second largest industry.

Brines calls it "a very viable small business model which has a fairly quick return on investment, even if people had to pay construction labor costs." His farm will be open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 19. For a map, go to his Web site.

Virtually unknown just a few years ago, high tunnels are catching on in Michigan with about two dozen already built, according to John Biernbaum, horticulture professor at Michigan State University. Nine new ones this year are part of a project to compare costs, output and revenue generated for existing farms.

Several Macomb County growers are also exploring winter greens production to sell to restaurants and at farmers markets, says Hannah Stevens, horticultural agent with the MSU Extension there.

One high tunnel already in operation is at the Giving Tree Farm in Lansing, where organic manager Sue Houghton says demand for their greens boomed after the contamination reports surfaced.

"We've sold every bit of spinach we could take to the farmers market," Houghton says, with many customers asking about produce, how it's grown and food safety.

In fact, Brines' own concern about food safety and sustainability prompted him to build the unheated greenhouse. With family and friends, he built the 30-x-96-foot structure on his parents
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