Winter Greens Production at Bread and Butter Farm Corie Pierce

Transcription

1 Winter Greens Production at Bread and Butter Farm Corie Pierce Growing and Storing Food in Cold Climates moving beyond season extension to year round production in unheated high tunnels

2 Show pictures of winter hightunnels Share my experiences overwintering a variety of crops Discuss crop variety for our climate Discuss protection used Discuss site selection for winter houses Discuss planting dates Discuss economics and what to expect

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8 Thinking About Year Round Production: Know your market and what to grow/sell How does winter crop match your summer crop from a timing perspective 4 key components to winter production Is it worth overwintering crops vs. extended season extension? Does timing of winter crops work for you? And does winter production help take pressure off summer production?

9 Basic Principles things to consider in managing winter hoophouses Time to maturity for crops increases greatly (ex. Kale normally 45 day to 60, 70 day) Manage freezing and thawing plants Water management in the soil and in the air Harvesting times

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11 The 4 Rights of High Tunnels how do you grow all winter? Plant the Right Crops Plant them at the Right Time Harvest them the Right Way and Get Multiple Harvests Give the Plants the Right Protection

12 Cropping in the High Tunnel Crop Selection-What? Location and Spacing-Where? Scheduling-When? Planting Methods and Equipment-How? Plant Protection and Health

13 Lettuce in Heated Greenhouse Days to Harvest Why rapid change? 5-Aug 15-Aug 25-Aug 5-Sep 15-Sep 25-Sep 5-Oct 15-Oct 25-Oct 5-Nov 15-Nov 25-Nov 5-Dec 15-Dec 25-Dec 5-Jan 15-Jan 25-Jan 5-Feb 15-Feb 25-Feb 5-Mar 15-Mar 25-Mar 5-Apr 15-Apr 25-Apr Date of Sowing

14 Seed Planted too late November 12 Picture taken January 8

15 Seed planted at the correct time 9/29 Picture taken in January

16 Kale January 18 Heated house on left, unheated right-november 3 & 12

17 Crop Selection Varied Crop Mix for diversity for your rotation and for your customers High Quality what crops will do well in these conditions? Consumer Preference what do your customers want? Uniqueness (to a point) try new things!

18 Cool Season Criteria Low Temperature Tolerance Thawing and Freezing Tolerance Multiple Harvests Direct Seeding and Transplant Production Disease Resistance When Cool and Moist

19 Bed Preparation Soil Preparation Amendments Incorporation Formation

20 Pinpoint Seeder Seeding Methods Earthway Seeder Broadcast Seeding Row Seeding

21 Cool Season Categories of Crops Leafy/Cooking Greens Heading Greens Root Crops Baby Leaf Salad Greens

22 Leafy/Cooking Greens

23 Double Duty Mustard baby for salad mix Mustard mature for bunching

24 Heading Greens

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26 Root Crops

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28 Baby Leaf Salad Greens Beautiful! Variety Color Shape

29 Baby Leaf Salad Size Volume Color Growth Rate Flavor Cold Tolerance Texture Disease Resistance

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32 Grouping Baby Salad Greens Fast Group Red Russian Kale Mizuna Arugula Red Giant Mustard Slow Group Lettuce (- Cold Tolerant) Mache Claytonia Moderate/+Quality Bull s Blood Beet Spinach Chinese cabbage (TB) Sorrel

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37 Right Crop Protection All of these crops can handle freezing but there is a limit Internal covers use remay (breathable cloth), or old tunnel covers to make a smaller space to cover at night Venting sunny days, will get HOT! Need to get moisture out of the house Watering not nearly as often, but very important for the plant to recover turgidity

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52 Site Selection For Winter Growing East West Orientation why?? Well drained Not in an area of cold sink Consider wind SHADE where are the trees or other structures? Understand winter vs. summer shadows (15ft tree can cast a 30ft shadow in winter)

53 Site Selection continued Other considerations: Plowing implications Getting in with a truck or cart proximity to warm space hauling all your veggies Electricity access (for the fan) Water access

54 Construction!

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64 CROP SELECTION and PLANT DATES CROP SEEDING DATE TP or DS TP PLANTING DATE Large kale 7/15 TP 8/15 Large Spinach 8/25 Either 9/25 if TP Chard 7/15 TP 8/15 Salad Mix Starting end of Aug-end of Sept DS Cilantro Mid-Sept DS Scallions 6/15 TP 8/15

65 WINTER ECONOMICS Based on gross sales from November - April Account for 4-8 weeks of no growth Will get some early harvests in October and crops may last into May Can sneak some understory crops (lettuce, row of radish, etc) Stock pile crops to be able to spread out harvest, or else take a 4-6 week break depending on weather

66 WATERING When do you water in the winter? October as needed like summer (scaling down) November 1-2 times per week, or as needed Dec Jan 1-3 times per month depending on average temps Feb like November March like October April.as usual When do you apply amendments? Figuring this out.

67 PROTECTION and VENTING Spinach needs least amount of coverage actually will do worse if covered unnecessarily Begin covering in November when temps drop into the 30 s Open up covers as much as possible during the day to get as much light to plant leaves GOAL: Keep house in the 60 s to low 70 s during the day and not below 30 at night When it is teens and below zero, under covers will dip to low 20 s or high teens

68 VENTING Especially in Oct/Nov and Mar/Apr, be careful of too little ventilation Ere on the side of over-ventilating to get as much airflow through house to prevent mold/mildew/disease

69 Understanding Value of Winter Crops Veggie Type # Rows Per Bed Plant Spacing (inches) Bed Length (ft) Total Plants per Bed Harvest Unit Type Harvestable Units per Plant Harvesta ble Units per Bed Sale Price Gross Sales per per Plant Harves t Unit Loss Allowance Net Sales per Plant Net Sales per Bed Net Sales Per Bed Foot Rainbow Chard Bunch of 6 to 8 large leaves $3 $9 10% $8.10 $680 $24 Purple Kale Bunch of 6 to 8 large leaves $3 $12 10% $10.80 $756 $32 Dino Kale Bunch of 8-10 small leaves or 6-8 larger leaves $3 $9 10% $8.10 $567 $24 Green Kale Bunch of 6 to 8 large leaves $3 $18 10% $16.20 $1,134 $49 Lettuce Heads / Escarole Head $3 $3 10% $2.48 $248 $8 Spinach 4 to lbs / bed per harvest 8 harvests per bed $8.00 n/a 0% n/a $1,280 $46 Salad Mix n/a 30 lbs / bed per harvest 4 harvests $10 n/a 0% n/a $1,200 $43

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