Extension of Local Food Production in Idaho Using High Tunnel Technology

Extension of Local Food Production in Idaho Using High Tunnel Technology

Summary

This WSARE High Tunnel project is being conducted by 6 members of the Horticulture Team at the University of Idaho, Stephen Love, Jennifer Jensen, Tony McCammon, Ariel Agenbroad, Wayne Jones, and Stuart Parkinson. UI faculty are partnering with active high tunnel growers to complete research and educational activities in three regions of Idaho, northern, southwestern, and south-central. The project is comprised of three  components: 1) research on high tunnel design with the objective to improve structural integrity under conditions of high winds and snow loads, 2) research to identify profitable crops and crop cultivars for use in Idaho high tunnel production, and 3) education on local food production using high tunnels through field days and publications.

Component 1: Design and construction of an experimental high tunnel was completed at Onsen Gardens in the spring of 2015. Design constraints include an aerodynamic shape and more closely spaced girders in the roof. Constructed side-by-side with a standard high tunnel, observations are ongoing to evaluate the performance and sturdiness of the new design. Evaluations include visual inspections to detect storm damage and the use of vibration detectors to measure structural stability. 

Component 2: Research to identify appropriate crops and cultivars for profitable high tunnel production is ongoing at three cooperator site: Green Tree Naturals in Sandpoint, Idaho (studies being completed in a high tunnel constructed under the WSARE grant); Onsen Gardens, Buhl, Idaho (site of the experimental high tunnel structure); and Next Generation Organics, Homedale, Idaho. At Green Tree Naturals, evaluation of bean, eggplant, and cucumber cultivars are in their third season. In addition to traditional salad crops, evaluation of high-value medicinal and homeopathic plant species is being conducted at Onsen Gardens. Production of late-maturing, specialty pepper cultivars is being conducted at Next Generation Organics. Cooperators are accumulating crop value and monetary return data.

Component 3: Educational activities associated with the project include field days and publications. Field days and tours were held at all three locations in 2016. Publication efforts are scheduled for the final phase of the project, to be completed in the spring and summer of 2017.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Component 1, High Tunnel Design:

Objective: Improve high tunnel design to withstand high winds and/or high snow loads. Specific structural issues to be addressed include: methods to strengthen end-walls (the most common point of wind-related failure); alternate structural materials to replace PVC hoops (prone to snow-load failure); and improvements in covering materials to improve structure life and reduce weather-related degradation.

 Year 1

Review existing structural research on high tunnels relevant to high winds and high snow loads. (Completed)

Collaborate with producers, University of Idaho College of Engineering faculty advisor and senior engineering students to develop design recommendations. (Completed)

Collaborate with senior engineering students to test materials and conduct bench-scale research on structural options. (Completed)

Collaborate with senior engineering students to design and build demonstration research high tunnels and perform initial structural evaluations. (Completed)

Years 2 and 3

Evaluate performance of the improved structural high tunnel design (In progress)

Component 2, Crop Performance Research:

Objective: To identify crops and cultivars amenable to production in high tunnels and to extend the growing season for currently grown, high-value crops through the use of high tunnel technologies.

Year 1

Review existing research on high tunnel use with targeted crops suitable for Idaho. (Completed)

Collaborate with producers to organize crop trials and establish criteria for data collection. (Completed)

Year 2

Continuation of crop trials and data collection. (In progress)

Year 3

Complete crop trials and summarize data.

Component 3, Education:

Objective: Provide research-based information to existing and prospective local food producers to encourage adoption of economically practical high tunnel production practices.

Year 1

Provide producer/professional education through field day/tours. (Completed)

Year 2

Present field day/tours and distribute educational materials. (Completed)

Year 3

Present training workshops statewide based on trial results and best practices.

Develop a DVD and other educational materials for distribution to producers and agricultural professionals. (Footage shot for the video)

Accomplishments/Milestones

At the end of the third year,  progress on the project is satisfactory with good agreement between accomplishments and the proposed timelines. Grower-cooperators for this project, Green Tree Naturals, Onsen Gardens, and Next Generation Organics, have given a high level of service. 

Component 1, High Tunnel Design:

In 2016, a second year of evaluation was completed on the damage-tolerant high tunnel. We have collected  good data from the wind tolerance study, soon to be analyzed by a statistician.  Seismographs were placed in the tunnels before each wind event and extracted afterwards by support staff at the farm.  There are no visible signs of wear on either the engineered or the control tunnel, making damage comparisons somewhat difficult. 

 Component 2, Crop Performance Research:

Cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers were evaluated at Green Tree Naturals in northern Idaho. Overall performance of plants inside and outside the high tunnels was calculated.

Eggplant ‘Traviata’:                      Outside: 0                                          High Tunnel: 128.8 pounds

Cucumber ‘Green Fingers’:         Hoop House: 149 cucumbers        High Tunnel: 524 cucumbers

Purple Peppers:                             Hoop House: 1.2 pounds                High Tunnel: 11.5 pounds

Onsen Winter Garden Farm has 5 high tunnels, including the two constructed as part of this project.  They have an assortment of herbs, leafy greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers, which they sell to local grocers and restaurants.  Our trials of growing Medicinal plants and high value micro-greens has been a success.  We have established tea tree(melalueca), helichrysum, pomegranates, Melissa, and various herbs used for oil.  The microgeens provided an excellent source for value added salad mixes for the farm.  Pea, sunflower, radish, mustard, spinach, and arugula were the biggest successes. 

Next Generation Organics evaluated late-maturing, specialty peppers. Our grower-cooperator Bart Raynes, of Next Generation Organics in Homedale, ID, continued exploring using his high tunnels to increase production and speed ripening of high value direct and retail specialty peppers. Despite high temperatures and a long growing season, all of his peppers performed below expectations this year. While in general, the peppers grown in the hoophouse grew more vigorously, yielded earlier, and ripened sooner than the same cultivars grown in field, the differences were not significant across all cultivars. However, a few specific cultivars in the hoophouse showed a marked increase in yield and several weeks advance ripening versus the same cultivars in field. ‘Ancho’ was one pepper that performed in this way. Some of the peppers of interest to local specialty markets, such as the infamous ‘Ghost’ pepper, were slow to yield and ripen whether in or out of protection.

Prolonging the harvest of the specialty peppers with the use of the hoophouse did permit Raynes to have these items through October and into early November, despite a killing frost in October. The plants inside the unheated hoophouse persisted until November, providing product for an additional 3-4 weeks. The Boise Farmers’ Market operates until mid-December, so having these crops longer is beneficial.

Component 3, Grower Education:

All three growers sites hosted field days, tours, and workshops during the 2016 season. All were well-attended and very successful. Local media were invited to attend the events. 

At the conclusion of the project, several visual and printed presentations are planned. One product will be a video describing the construction of our durable high tunnel design. A portion of the footage for the video was shot during high tunnel fabrication at Onsen Gardens. Other products will include bulletins summarizing the crop research and other publications that provide instruction on high tunnel production.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The immediate impact of this project is increased high tunnel production capability at the cooperator farms, particularly Green Tree Naturals and Onsen Gardens. A by-product is greater visibility for these producers and local high-tunnel based food production.

Long-term project objectives are to increase knowledge and skills associated with local food production using high tunnels among a greater number of producers in Idaho. These impacts are yet to be realized. As the project progresses, education will be provided to additional producers through educational activities and training materials. Producers and agricultural professionals will attend field tours. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the participating producers, tour the field demonstrations and receive educational materials. Attendees at field days and other activities will be asked to complete the “Regional Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Outreach Survey” to document their responses to project activities and inform the project team of areas for improvement or follow-up.

Collaborators: