greenhouses for small farms - adams...
TRANSCRIPT
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Greenhouses for Small Farms
Brooke Edmunds, PhDRegional Specialist, Commercial
Greenhouse & NurseriesColorado State University Extension
Photo: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu
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Why do you want to build a greenhouse?
Depends on your business plan!• Season extension?
– 4-6 wks on either end• Year-round production?
– Add additional protection for cold hardy crops• Start your own transplants?• Animal housing?
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Greenhouse options: Traditional Greenhouse
•Considered a permanent structure•Taxes, permits
•Planted in ground or on benches•Automatic control of temperature and humidity•Expensive•Cost efficient? (heating through winter…)
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www.socolofskyfarms.com
Moveable (on skids)Stationary
More cost efficient
Today’s Focus:Season Extension with Stationary Hoophouses
Greenhouse Options: High Tunnel/Hoophouse
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What is the difference between a high tunnel and a hoophouse?
• Terms sometimes interchangeable• High tunnels-single layer of poly• Hoophouse-double layer of poly
– Inflated with fan– Better insulation– More expensive? (double poly)
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Hoophouses
• Temporary structure – Frame– Double layer of polymer plastic film
• Crops grown in ground ~usually~• Typically unheated• Economic alternative to true greenhouse
structures• Two styles
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Quonset Style
Easily homemade with PVC pipe or ordered as kitCan be less expensive than other designsSnow stress load is less
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Photo: rutgers.edu
Gothic Style
Usually bought as a kitCan be more expensiveSheds snow better
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Figures: Rodale Institute
End Wall
Side Wall
Terminology:Example with Gothic style
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Structural Materials
• Frames– PVC– Aluminum– Steel
• Film plastic (polyethylene)– UV resistant– 6 mil thickness is most common– 4 yr poly– Double- or single layer
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Site and other considerations• Drainage
– Is the site level?• Snow load• Wind
– Prevailing winds– Max gusts-can the structure handle it?
• Light and winter shading• Distance to utilities & road
– Electricity– Irrigation water
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Site Preparation is key!
Photo: Western Mountain Alliance
Start a year in advance if possible:Cultivation to remove weedsCover crops to increase nutrient levelsSheet compostingAdd organic matter
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Level site is key: both for drainage once crop is established and for proper construction of hoophouse!Consider rainfall:
When it does rain-where will it go?Drainage ditch needed?
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Collapse due to snow load
Prevention tips:Design selection-Gothic is better in heavy snowSteel vs. PVC frameAdditional cross-bracing Manually remove snowHeater inside to melt snowIf not in use, remove plastic?
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Wind damage from severe thunderstorm in KS
Photo: hightunnels.org
Hoophouses are “like big kites”How to prevent lift-off:Careful site selection to avoid constant windClose end wall doors and side wall ventilation during stormsPoly strips or old drip tape over side walls
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Webbing or old drip tape over side walls
Photo: Cornell Univ.
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Light
• Know the sun’s path in all seasons• Why?
– Consider winter shadows• How?
– Sun path chart– Available online– Many different formats– Same concept
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Figure: Alward, Ron, and Andy Shapiro. 1981. Low-Cost Passive Solar Greenhouses.National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, MT. 173 p.
Know the sun’s path in all seasons
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Light: Hoophouse position
• East-West?• North-South?• Consider exposure during day and during
year• 40º latitude is right on dividing line• Depends on site characteristics, too
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Heating
Most hoophouses are unheated• Propane heaters• Alternative fuel heaters• Water barrels (passive heat)• Inner row covers add another 4+ degrees
– Spun-bonded fabric cover over mini-hoops– Don’t let foliage touch row cover-frost damage
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Black Barrels filled w/ water release heat during night
Pros: Cheaper heatCons: Still an added expense
Block lightReduce useable space
Photo: High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
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Spun-bonded Fabric
Hoops
Photo: MN Institute for Sustainable Ag
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Photo: MN Institute for Sustainable Ag
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Ventilation/Cooling
• Manual– Roll up sides– Open front/back doors or vents– Fans in end walls
• Automatic– Use automatic controlled side walls, vents,
and end wall fans
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Photo: growerssupply.com
Ventilation Options: Roll up side walls
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Photo: noble.org
Ventilation options: Winged end wall
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Ventilation options: Simple end wall
Photo: hightunnels.org
End walls can be as intricate or simple as you want-Personalize to suit your needs!
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Photo: socolofskyfarms.com
Irrigation options: Drip Tape
Other OptionsOverhead irrigation
Mist irrigation (leafy greens, etc.)
Potential Problems:Foliar disease development
Frozen water line to hoophouse possible
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IPM in hoophouses
“Everything grows faster in hoophouses!”• Weeds• Disease• Insects
– All love the warm, moist protected climates in hoophouses!
– Mulch and hand labor for weeds– Solarization?– Disease & insect problems specific to crop
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What can you grow?
Photos: Campanula, sunflower, parsley, –Seeds of Change Cucumbers, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, beets, : underwoodgardens.com
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Spring
Photo: flowers-Noble Foundation
• Cut flowers• Salad greens
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Summer
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Fall
•Extend raspberry, blackberry season
•Continue tomato crop•Broccoli
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Winter
Photo: windcrestorganics.com
• Root crops (carrots...)• Salad greens• Cole crops
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Resources
• Hightunnels.org• Growingformarket.com
– The Hoophouse Handbook• Eliot Coleman books
– Winter Harvest Manual (updated this spring)– Four Season Harvest
• YouTube-has building videos • Your neighbors with hoophouses!
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Contact Info
Brooke Edmunds, PhDRegional SpecialistCommercial Greenhouse & NurseriesColorado State University [email protected]/637-8016
Slides will be posted at:www.adamscountyextension.org