Reports, charts, results and information from our 2019 sweet potato trials which included a variety trial, a slip production trial and a slip grading trial. These documents are in pdfs. 

This webinar introduces the basics of how to grow vegetables during winter using a high tunnel.  

This is a report on our 2018-2019 high tunnel spinach nitrogen trial.

Learn to use a sous vide device to heat treat seeds as a simple, economical way to control diseases.

Direct market customers eagerly await the first veggies of the season. If a grower can beat their neighbor by even just a week or two they may well have a loyal customer for the rest of the season.  With this thought in mind, we ran a trial last summer to see if using a high tunnel would produce some warm season crops earlier than if grown outside. 

This is a recording of an hour long webinar held by Amy Ivy of the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, Judson Reid of the Cornell Vegetable Program and Mike Davis of the Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm on Nov 29, 2018.

A copy of the PowerPoint is included in the 'read details' section below. With funding from the Northern NY Agricultural Development Program.

With support from a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (NE SARE) Partnership Grant (ONE17-298) and the generous cooperation of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project (PFP), I spent much of last winter gathering data from a side by side comparative trial assessing the impact of minimal heating in winter greens production. Specifically, we tracked yield, soil nitrate availability, total plant nitrogen uptake, propane use, and soil temperature all winter in the two identical side-by-side 42'x196' double layer inflated poly Harnois high tunnels at PFP. The only deliberately manipulated variable between the two tunnels was the minimum thermostat setting: one tunnel was set to 33° F ambient air temperature and the other set to 40° F. 

Here is the final report on our 2017 research in high tunnel production of cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers and a winter spinach fertility study at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm with funding from NNYADP (Northern NY Ag Development Program).

We receive a lot of questions from growers about applying nutrients to their crops through the leaves rather than the roots. But is this the best way?

Thrips populations can explode, especially under the protective conditions in a high tunnel. Bio-controls can only help at the early stages, but there are a couple of other options for organic and conventional growers to try to bring this pest under control.

Brown spots on the leaf edges of transplants may be caused by a calcium deficiency. However, more calcium is likely not the answer; environmental conditions that reduce the rate of plant transpiration can result in tip burn. Read more about how to avoid this issue in the future!

A little time spent pruning and training young high tunnel tomatoes now will pay off later this season; not only in greater yields but in labor efficiency during harvest.

This week a few growers reported serious damage and loss of first flowers in their early, heated high tunnel tomatoes. We suspect the hives came with too many bees for the number of flowers and over-pollination by the hungry bees is causing the blossoms to drop without setting fruit. Is anyone else seeing this kind of damage?

The cool, cloudy weather of the April has made growing quality transplants quite challenging. However, many growers across the region are still producing (and holding!) really high quality plants. Read about how local growers are using germination chambers, proper venting, water/nutrient management, and vigilant sanitation to make the most of the season so far.

Winter high tunnel production has increased significantly in the region. However, there is serious disagreement among growers about the potential value and true costs of supplemental heating through the winter. A NE SARE Partnership Grant supported work to research the impact of forced air heating at 33 degrees and 40 degrees on nitrogen uptake, yield, and propane use over the winter: here are some initial results.

The peppers evaluated in 2011 performed very similar in total yield per plant as measured by pounds. When we look at fruit size and weight we do find differences that can help growers make choices in variety. When selling by the piece, in a retail setting, varieties such as Yellow Crest would work well. For wholesale accounts varieties such as Gordo will fill bushel boxes faster. Sandpiper, a slightly smaller fruit than the other bell peppers is this trial, gave very good yields and offers a nice color spectrum. High tunnels are a great tool for vegetable growers to increase quality and color of bell peppers. Total economic performance per square foot is much less than tomatoes. However, labor inputs are also lower. Although not a perfect rotational crop with tomatoes, peppers are not a host for Fulvia Leaf Mold, and are less likely to harbor Two Spotted Spider Mites. We encourage growers to consider peppers in high tunnels for increased quality and yield.