Usually, we think of grasshoppers as a summer or fall vegetable pest. That is why we were surprised to hear from a grower with a plague of them in his Vermont high tunnel in early May (Fig. 1). This grower had never noticed grasshoppers in the spring before but, this year the succulent new growth of his high tunnel cucumbers has been reduced to lacy shadows of their former selves (Fig. 2). Becky Maden has observed grasshoppers …
Category Archives: High Tunnels
Growing Good Transplants
Growing high quality transplants helps get vegetable crops off to a strong start in the field, and it’s essential to customer satisfaction if you are selling transplants. At the recent New England Vegetable and Fruit conference I picked up many of the following tips on transplant production from presentations by Jan van der Heide of …
High and Dry Growing Vegetables in Northern New England High Tunnels | Spring 2026, Issue 8
Welcome to the eighth issue of High and Dry: Growing Vegetables in Northern New England High Tunnels, a quarterly newsletter linking growers, researchers, and agricultural service providers to enhance protected crop production. (view/download this newsletter as a PDF) The snow has vanished, evenings grow longer, and — even on a chilly day — when the …
Soil Testing in High Tunnels
Why should you use a different soil test for high tunnels? Management of high tunnel soils differs from field soils, largely because of the lack of rainfall and because higher rates of amendments are needed to achieve yield potential in high tunnels. In addition, over time, certain nutrients(such as phosphorus) and soluble salts may accumulate …