High Altitude Season Extension (HASE) Innovation Grant Report 2

Project Name:

High Altitude Season Extension (HASE): Evaluation of Season Extension Techniques in Higher Elevation (6500+ ft) Growing Areas

PI:

Yvette Henson (replaced Brooke Edmonds, who left CSU)

Explain why this proposal was innovative and creative – in terms of content, audience, methodology, etc.

“This project will conduct innovative and timely research into the use of season extending techniques to produce food crops at higher elevations in Colorado. Funds will be used in three ways:

1) to compare the effect of season extension techniques on crop yields

2) to determine adaptable plant varieties for high elevation growing

3) to develop demonstration plots for market producers, home gardeners and Master Gardener trainings in the mountain areas of Colorado.

This experiment will compare three season extension techniques in three high elevation counties (Eagle, San Miguel, and Teller counties). Raised beds (>22 inches tall, 4’ wide x 12’ long) were constructed at all locations. Crop yields under polycarbonate covers with automatic vents, and mini-hoops covered with spun-bound polyester will be compared to an uncovered bed. Plants to be tested in 2010 include lettuce and transitioning to cold-hardy greens (spinach or kale) in the fall. A minimum of three varieties of each crop will be tested. Fresh yield weights will be recorded and monthly photographs taken of each test plot. Air temperature and soil temperature in each test plot will be monitored for the length of the trial using automated data loggers. This will allow us to directly compare the effect of soil and air temperature on plant growth for each treatment.”

Clearly state the issue you addressed, why it was a priority, and why it was timely:

This is timely research: there is an increased demand for local food production at the home gardener and commercial levels. There is also increasing concerned about food insecurity in the mountains of Colorado. Rural communities and those in areas with extremely short growing seasons rely almost exclusively on fresh produce and other food items trucked into the area. Increasing local production of crops will make areas more food secure. Season extension techniques will play a large role in crop production at high elevation areas with extremely short (~60-120 day) growing seasons depending on elevation and microclimate.

One limitation to immediately implementing season extension techniques is that research-based information at high elevation areas of Colorado is non-existent. Successful studies conducted on the Front Range (<5500 ft) have been incorporated into Master Gardener training materials but these techniques have not been confirmed at higher elevations. Mountainous areas have distinctly different growing season lengths and

conditions and results of research conducted on the plains cannot be directly transferred. Most season extension techniques, including the ones we will test, are decidedly low-tech and do not require expensive investments. Utilizing a protected environment, like a cold frame, is expected to extend a growing season by a month or longer. With protection, soils will be warmer and plants will be insulated from frost and excessive ultraviolet radiation. Utilizing a combination of proven season extension techniques and adapted plant varieties will allow mountain counties to become more food secure and increase the potential for additional income by selling produce.”

List faculty involved. All projects must include at least one county-based AND one campus-based OR one regional OR one experiment station-based faculty.

The original team when this project was funded was Brooke Edmunds, the original P.I. and Specialist, Mark Platten, Laurel Potts, Yvette Henson. Brooke Edmonds left CSU and Dr. Steven Newman agreed to be our campus specialist. We also consult with Frank Stonaker and Jim Self.

Provide numeric budget, budget narrative, and discuss all inputs.

In-kind donations: Water at each site; Master Gardener or other volunteers to build raised beds, plant seeds, weed, set up coverings, etc.; mileage for PI to travel to each site for set up, mid-season check, and final evaluation.

Total Requested Funding: $4715

As of May 2011 we had spent $3,625.00

• Lumber and hardware for framing raised beds at Teller County and San Miguel County locations (Eagle County will use existing beds.

• Soil to fill beds (at two locations). • Micro-sprayers and irrigation lines (at two locations) • Covering materials (hardware cloth, spun-bond polyester, poly film, zip ties, automatic vents,

poly carbonate sheets, fasteners, etc.) • Automated soil and air temperature data loggers, base station to download data and required

software. • Soil nutrient and texture analysis (9 @ $40): $360

As of December 31, 2011 our final expenditures total $4,574 out of 4,715 budgeted.

• Seeds of ‘Tyee’ spinach, ‘Starbor’ kale, and ‘Vit’ corn salad (mache) and 3 romaine lettuce varieties: ‘Cimarron’, ‘Rouge De Hiver’, and ‘Paris Island Cos’ were purchased

• Treatment Covers: Agribon Ag 30 and Dio-Betalon row covers. Brooke had purchased the Solexx twin wall covering. (See below under Treatments for more information)

• Materials and supplies to install covers (screws, u- clamps, boards, greenhouse tape, foam insulation, etc.)

• Miscellaneous irrigation system supplies

We did not purchase the budgeted fertilizer (for three locations): $150 or signage for individual plots (9 total): $150.

List outputs; discuss the activities, products, methods and services that reached people and users.

There will be several outputs from this project:

1) research-based information on effectiveness of high elevation season extension techniques will be obtained

2) demonstration plots will be built for on-site Master Gardener and community training

3) we will use our first-year results to leverage for outside funding to continue the project in subsequent years.

Research-based information: The first year trial results will be freely distributed. A new CSU Extension factsheet “Season Extension Techniques for Colorado” will be developed. This factsheet will incorporate what is known about the Front Range and our trial results at higher elevations. The results of the trial will also be summarized and incorporated into the Master Gardener training materials (as an update to CMG GardenNotes #722). It is anticipated that additional funding will allow for multi-year results which will be summarized into a scientific journal article for submission to HortTechnology or similar publication.

Demonstration plots:

The demonstration plots are located in readily accessible areas near other gardening demonstration areas in each county. The plots will be clearly marked with signage describing the goals this study and list the benefits of season extension techniques. This will enable gardeners and commercial growers to observe the research we are conducting. It is also anticipated that each county will incorporate these demonstration plots into their training and presentations as opportunity arises.

Leveraging outside funding to continue the project:

It is our desire to obtain supplemental multi-year funding to continue testing vegetable and herb varieties that do well at high elevations. Subsequent funding will extend the research to include cold frame greenhouse structures and replicate applicable technologies and trials being done through CSU Rocky Mountain Small Farm Project under Dr. Frank Stonaker As funding increases, it would also be interesting to continue testing new season extending techniques which may lead to eventually recommending specific techniques for specific crops.

Describe what outcomes you evaluated, how the evaluation was done, and your results.

The final research data gathered in this study will be evaluated according to standard statistical methods. These results will be incorporated into several educational trainings which will be evaluated as part of that specific training. For example, knowledge gained through Master Gardener training is evaluated using that instrument. The faculty involved may also choose to present the results at local workshops which will be individually evaluated.

Location for San Miguel Basin (See Figure SM 1 in Appendix)

The beds are behind a San Miguel County building, “The West Wing” at 135 West Colorado Avenue, Telluride, Colorado, 81435. The elevation is approximately 8750’.

Location for Eagle County (See Figure E1 in Appendix)

The beds are a part of 9 beds (only three used for this study) next to the Eagle County Extension Office, 441 Broadway, Eagle, Colorado, 81631. The elevation is approximately 6500’.

Location for Teller County (See Figure T1 in Appendix)

The plots are located on the Aspen Valley Ranch located at 1150 S. West Rd., Woodland Park, CO 80863. The elevation is approximately 8900’.

Raised Beds

Each site built 3 raised beds 22” tall, 4’ wide (3.5’ on the inside) and 12’ long of un-treated wood. Four equally spaced (every 4’) hoops made of ½” electrical conduit were installed on each planter with pipe clamps. The hoops were installed approximately 2’ high. All beds are oriented east to west, with the long sides facing south to capture most solar gain. They also open on the south facing side.

Treatments (Season Extension Covers)

The control beds have no season extension covers. In San Miguel and Eagle counties they are covered with plastic chicken wire to keep out pests. (See Figures SM2 and E2 in Appendix)

The row cover treatments consist of two layers of fabric (See Figures SM3 and T2 in Appendix)

• The under layer is Agribon Ag30, a medium weight (0.9 oz/yd2) spun-bonded polypropylene row cover fabric with 70% light transmittance and up to 6 degrees of frost protection. It also conserves water by reducing transpiration, protects from bright sunlight and excludes insects.

• The top layer is Dio-Betalon (Tuffbell 3800N) polyvinyl alcohol film. It is reinforced with nylon threads to prevent tears. It has unique properties that allow moisture to freeze within the fibers to form a protective shield over the crop. It is 35% permeable so you can water through it and it allows 90-95% light transmittance and increases air and soil temperature by 5-10 degrees, yet does not overheat.

• Both layers are secured to the end hoops with 2-3” sections of ¾” irrigation tubing slit down one side.

• Teller County only used the Dio-Betalon cover and not the Agribon Ag 30.

The greenhouse cover treatment is insulated twin-wall SolexxTM XP paneling. It is a flexible 3.5 mm polyethylene cover with a 2.3 R-value, a 0.43 U-value and allows 70-77% soft diffused light. Each Greenhouse Cover Treatment bed is fitted with a automatic vent opener (See Figure T3 and in Appendix)

Soil (See Figures SM4, E3, E4, E5 and T4 in the Appendix for soil test reports)

We tried to match our top soils as closely as possible. All locations filled with 8.6 cu yards of top soil. Before planting the Fall Planted Greens for Early Spring Harvest Trial, one 3 cu ft bale of sphagnum peat was added per planter at each location (except Teller County? based on a recommendation by CSU soil scientist Jim Self.

Irrigation System (See Figure SM5 in Appendix)

In each bed we Installed 4, 90° micro sprinklers in the corners and 2, 180° micro sprinklers on opposite sides in the middle connected by tubing. Irrigation is turned on at a faucet. In Eagle the hose goes underground. In Telluride, we connect a watering hose to the top box and water one box at a time.

Data loggers (See Figure SM6 in Appendix)

One HOBO® Pro v2 data loggers were installed in center of each bed at each location. The probes that sense soil temperatures were inserted 5-6” deep into the soil in the center of each bed. The canister that senses the air temperature was covered with styrofoam cups to function as solar radiation shields. Each cup had holes punched in it for ventilation. One HOBO® Optic USB Base Station (Part # BASE-U-4) to use with coupler2-E was provided to each site to download data from the loggers onto a computer.

HOBOware® Pro/ Lite is the software purchased from www.onsetcomp.com to record and analyze the data.

I. Preliminary Growing by County

We had some setbacks that delayed the team from beginning this project at the original time planned, so counties did some independent growing before we had our first coordinated replication – “Fall Planted Greens for Early Spring Harvest”. We will follow this first trial with a coordinated replicated trial- “ Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce”.

San Miguel Basin planted ‘Provider’ green beans, ‘State Fair’ cucumbers and ‘Gypsy’ and ‘Carmen’ sweet peppers in all three treatments in mid to late June, 2011. Each vegetable was allotted 1/3 of the total growing area (4’ x 4’) in each treatment. We used recommended application rate of Happy Frog® Tomato & Vegetable Organic Fertilizer (7-4-5) in all beds. The last harvest was September 11, 2011. We harvested too early so we could replant for our first official coordinated trial, Fall Planted Greens for Early Spring Harvest.

• ‘Provider’ green beans were seeded on June 11 in the covered beds and on June 26 (average last frost in Telluride is June 26) in uncovered bed We based these different planting dates on recommended planting dates for treated (season extension covers) or untreated (uncovered). We had three harvests. The final harvest was September 11, 2011. The total yield from the beds covered with polycarbonate sheets (what we named Greenhouse Cover) was 36 cups. The total yield from the beds covered with spun bound polyester cloth was 29 cups. The total yield from the uncovered bed was less than 3.5 cups. The plants in the uncovered bed had symptoms (cupping, twisted leaves with some parallel veins) that could have been caused by insect vectored virus (timing was off for common pests that cause this nor were any insects observed), herbicide drift (nothing to substantiate this cause) or environmental stresses (mainly cool night temperatures).

• ‘State Fair’ cucumbers were seeded on the same dates as the green beans: June 11 in covered beds and June 26 in uncovered. We only harvested one cucumber that was salad size. The rest of the cucumbers harvested were at the gherkin pickle size so we didn’t measure the harvest. However, the same general trend was observed between treatments. The cucumbers in the uncovered bed had the same symptoms as the green beans.

• Pepper plants were planted later. They never did that well. They had some unknown diagnosed nutritional and/or environmental stresses that were exhibited by slow growth and chlorosis. We did have some harvest that we did not measure. They didn’t seem as affected by the leaf distortion as the other plants were.

(See Figure SM in Appendix)

Eagle County planted mixed greens, radishes, mustards and Asian greens in the beds for the summer (See Figure E6 in Appendix).

Teller County didn’t do any preliminary growing.

II. Fall Planted Greens for Early Spring Harvest

San Miguel Basin seeded 3 rows each of ‘Tyee’ spinach, ‘Starbor’ kale, and ‘Vit’ corn salad (mache) in each bed on September 15, 2011. We followed recommendations on seed packets for spacing. The rows of plants are oriented north to south. The 4’ x 4’ section of the beds they were assigned to was randomly generated. Prior to planting, we added a 3 cu. yard bale of sphagnum peat moss to each bed. We added no additional fertilizer.

We watered in by hand at planting and then watered using the micro spray irrigation system. After freezing temperatures, we would water by hand using a hose stored indoors to prevent ice from forming in the hose. We initially used a moisture meter to determine if watering was needed. We would water if moisture meter read below 6. But when the ground froze we began to water based on the feel of the soil as deep as it was unfrozen. We only water if temperatures are above 40 at mid day giving time for water to infiltrate before night fall and freezing temperatures return.

We check the beds twice a week and take photos at least once monthly of each planting in each treatment.

No harvesting was done except for thinning. We will harvest and record weight of yield per crop as close as possible to planting the Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce Trial.

Observations and photos confirm the plants in the row cover treated bed are showing the best growth and health.

(See Figures SM8 - SM16 in Appendix)

Eagle County seeded 3 rows each of ‘Tyee’ spinach, ‘Starbor’ kale, and ‘Vit’ corn salad (mache) in each bed on September 17, 2011. We followed recommendations on seed packets for spacing. The rows of plants are oriented north to south. The 4’ x 4’ section of the beds they were assigned to was randomly generated. Prior to planting, we added a 3 cu. yard bale of sphagnum peat moss to each bed but added no additional fertilizer.

Watering was necessary weekly or bi-weekly but was not always possible due to snow, cold, frozen hoses, etc.

No harvesting was done except for thinning. We will harvest and record weight of yield per crop as close as possible to planting the Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce Trial.

Observations and photos confirm the plants in the row cover treated bed are showing the best growth and health.

(See Figures E7 – E14 in Appendix)

Teller County seeded 3 rows each of ‘Tyee’ spinach, ‘Starbor’ kale, and ‘Vit’ corn salad (mache) in each bed on September 13, 2011. They followed recommendations on seed packets for spacing. The 4’ x 4’ section of the beds they were assigned to was randomly generated. The rows of plants are oriented north to south. No supplements, including sphagnum peat and fertilizer, were added to the soil.

The beds were checked about twice weekly up until the middle of November. Then the Agent had to move offices and couldn’t access water since everything froze and I was out of town for two weeks. Everything is pretty much gone at this point.

Teller harvested spinach before the holidays from the two covered plots. • From the row cover treatment, 11 oz. were harvested on Nov 17, 2011. • From the greenhouse cover treatment, 20 oz. were harvested on November 17, 2011. • The control plot’s spinach all died because of too cold of temps.

If anything lives over winter, we will harvest and record weight of yield per crop as close as possible to planting the Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce Trial. Yields suggest that the greenhouse cover treatment will do better than single layer of Dio-Betalon row cover treatment. (See Figures T4 – T11 in Appendix)

III. Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce Trial

In late winter early spring2012 we will plant to harvest baby romaine lettuces; ‘Cimarron’, ‘Rouge De Hiver’, and ‘Paris Island Cos’ as soon as we can harvest our Fall Planted Greens for Early Spring Harvest.

IV. If scheduling allows we will try another planting of warm season crops as soon as we harvest Early Spring Baby Romaine Lettuce. If not, we will wait and plant another Fall crop.

Appendix

Figure SM1- Beds in Fall Figure E1- Installing Cover for Fall

Figure T1- Beds in Fall Figure SM2- Control Bed with plastic wire

Figure E2- Control Bed with up close of plastic Figure SM3- double layer ‘Row Cover’ Treatment Chicken wire

Figure T2- single layer of Dio-Betalon Figure T3- Solexx twin wall polyethylene ‘Row Cover’ Treatment ‘Greenhouse Cover’ Treatment

Figure SM5- showing micro sprinkler layout Figure SM6- solar radiation shield on datalogger

Figure SM7- Preliminary trial of warm-season Figure E6- Preliminary trial of mixed greens Crops

Figure SM8- Spinach in Greenhouse Cover Figure SM9- Kale in Greenhouse Cover Treatment

Treatment 1/31/2012 1/31/2012

Figure SM10- Mache in Greenhouse Cover Figure SM11- Mache in Row Cover Treatment Treatment 1/31/2012 1/31/2012

Figure SM12- Kale in Row Cover Treatment Figure SM13- spinach in Row Cover Treatment 1/31/2012 1/31/2012

Figure SM14- Spinach in Control Figure SM15- Kale in Control 1/31/2012 1/31/2012

Figure SM16- Mache in control Figure E7- Spinach in Greenhouse Cover Treatment 1/31/2012 11/9/2011

Figure E8- Kale in Greenhouse Cover Figure E9- Mache in Greenhouse Cover Treatment 11/9/2011 Treatment 11/9/2011

Figure E10- Mache in Row Cover Figure E11- Kale in Row Cover Treatment Treatment 11/9/2011 11/9/2011

Figure E13- Spinach in Row Cover Figure E14- Spinach, Kale and Mache in Control Treatment 11/9/2011 11/9/2011

Figure T4- Spinach in Control 10/28/2011 Figure T5- Kale in Control 10/28/2011

Figure T6- Kale in Greenhouse Cover Figure T7- Mache in Greenhouse Cover Treatment Treatment 10/28/2011 10/28/2011

Figure T8- Spinach in Greenhouse Cover Figure T9- Spinach in Row Cover Treatment Treatment 10/28/2011 10/28/2011

Figure T10- Kale in Row Cover Treatment Figure T11- Mache in Row Cover Treatment 10/28/2011 10/28/2011