We devised a retractable shade cloth for our raspberries and pulled it over the plants today after yesterday we saw temperatures in the low 90s in the tunnel. We are harvesting Prelude raspberry (floricane fruiting) and noticed some blonde drupes so we wanted to shade them. Of course, it is overcast today and there are tornado warnings out. If you don't like the weather in … [Read more...] about Raspberry shade cloth pulled out
Deb French, the "tomato whisperer", stopped by to teach us how to use the stake and weave technique for our tomatoes in the high tunnel demonstration planting. Simpsons' Family Farm has used this technique for several years to produce quality tomatoes for sale. We are working on high tunnel and greenhouse vegetable crop demonstrations for our 2017 Greenhouse and High Tunnel … [Read more...] about Stake and weave tomatoes
The field crew began harvest of the sour cherries today. Despite the late frost and hail storms we still have a good harvest this year. The cultivars grown at the Fruit Station are 'Surefire' and 'Montmorency'. The cherries will be available in the sales office while supplies last. … [Read more...] about Sour Cherry Harvest
Last Friday, May 8, was a nice rainy day - perfect to get things done in the high tunnel! Protected from the rain, we harvested the rest of the lettuce and had to harvest some potatoes a bit early for new potatoes. After the veggies were harvested, the raspberry trellis posts were pounded in, the raspberries in bags were rotated into the space, and the irrigation was … [Read more...] about Veggies harvested and raspberries rotated in
Yesterday we collected pruning weight data on the “High Tunnel Production Rotation of Primocane Bearing Raspberries in Grow Bags” project funded through the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. Today we moved the raspberries out of the high tunnel to the field and then protected them from winter cold with straw mulch. … [Read more...] about Putting the raspberries to bed for winter