High Tunnel Hurrah!!

On March 24th, I took a tour of a working high tunnel greenhouse and edible yard.  The tour was organized through Cooperative Extension.  What a wonderful way to spend an early spring afternoon!

We visited Margo Hittleman and Richard Lansdowne's property out in Groton.  Margo has a blog chronicling their gardening life called Everyday Eden - Adventures in Edible Landscaping .  Over several years, the couple has converted their property from a standard house and yard to a wonderful house and a landscape which provides the majority of their food needs.  How inspiring!

Here are a few images from the visit:

View into the high tunnel.  Built on their old driveway, it's 10 x 24 feet.  Margo recommends a 12 x 24 foot version so you can have 3 rows instead of 2.  Note the inexpensive but perfectly sized cinder blocks used for the raised beds. 

A variety of greens growing happily under cover.   This was the second crop of the winter season.

Outside, Margo and Richard use a series of low tunnels to grow kale, turnips, carrots and scallions.  Leeks were covered with a thick layer of straw verses plastic.  Rebar is driven into the ground with the PVC pipe bent over it to create the "low tunnel".  Pretty easy - very flexible!!  They watch the weather closely in order to know when to pull back the plastic and when not to.

Margo was very generous with her knowledge.  She stressed the need to understand that the plants are day length sensitive verses hot / cold.  This means they will grow as long as there are X number of hours of sunlight each day.  Margo stated it is critical to plant your crops based on the calendar verses how warm / cold it is outside.  We are used to waiting for the last frost or testing soil temperature: this is different.  The sun is pretty set in it's rotation around the earth, giving us variable day lengths.  To successfully garden in a high tunnel, you have to be attuned to this.  Another interesting tidbit was their use of the high tunnel as a hot house for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants ~ garden veggies who like it warm ~ during the growing season.  They literally roll the greenhouse over another set of raised beds containing those plants in early summer to give them a boost throughout the (short) growing season.  Gotta love year round use of gardening equipment!

In a nutshell, if you are a greens lover, high and low tunnels are for you!  Favorites include a variety of salad greens (Mache, mustards, arugula, spinach and cold tolerate lettuce) and cooking greens like Tatsoi, Pac Choi, kale and chard. Margo and Richard shared a listing of varieties they have had success with over the years and this may be available if you contact Cooperative Extension and ask for a copy.

Alias, like the Bush family and broccoli, my family is not big on greens.  My next post will be about how to sneak greens into a family's diet.  As a gardener, it's my duty to force my family to eat greens ~ especially if I purchase that high tunnel I have my eye on.....
:)