As the days grow longer and warmer, we can’t help turning our attention to germination chambers, propagation houses, greenhouses, and high tunnels. It is an exciting time of year, but also a time to take some extra care with heating appliances. Before firing up the heaters in your heated growing spaces, take the time to …
Category Archives: Greenhouses
The Ag Engineering Podcast
Where we talk tools, tips and techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm Andy was awarded a 2019 Northeast SARE Grant to produce The Ag Engineering Podcast. In this podcast, we share tools, tips and techniques to improve sustainability on your farm. It was launched in December 2019. This podcast features short-format, easy to …
Ventilation in Greenhouses and High Tunnels
I had the pleasure of facilitating a workshop at the 2019 NOFA-MA Summer Conference about Ventilation in Greenhouses and High Tunnels. It provided an opportunity to collect information from various sources, ground truth observations with growers, and to revisit some fundamentals. The big takeaway, for me, is that there are many, many ways to ventilate …
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All About Alliums – Twilight Meeting Video Recording
Last summer we had a twilight meeting all about Alliums at High Meadows Farm on July 12th, 2018. During this meeting, farmers joined Howard Prussack of High Meadows Farm, University of Vermont Agricultural Engineer Chris Callahan and Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist Crystal Stewart for a field walk discussing garlic and onion production and postharvest …
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Summer Twilight Series – Event Schedule
Join us on our series of 2019 On-Farm Workshop for Commercial Vegetable and Berry Growers! Attendance at these events is free for members of the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association. The cost is $10 per-person for non-members, payable on-site. Refreshments will be served. Membership in the VVBGA costs $55 per farm, per calendar year. …
Getting Started with a Growth Chamber
We’ve received a number of inquiries about building germination chambers so we have decided to provide some consolidated resources and guidance. An important first step is to consider what the purpose of the chamber actually is. There are a number of horticultural practices that benefit from dedicated, environmentally controlled spaces. These include germination, starting, propagation/transplanting, …
Launching of The Ag Engineering Podcast?!
Hello friends and farmers! I am excited to share a new idea and am looking for your feedback and support! Today, I am releasing Episode 0 of the UVM Extension Ag Engineering Podcast! This is a short form audio segment on tools, tips, and techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. This is a …
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Expanding Your Tunnel Vision, Manchester NH
Andy ventured down to the high tunnel conference hosted in Manchester, NH on December 4th to expand his knowledge on protected culture. This program was co-sponsored by the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and the Maine Organic Farmers’ and Gardeners’ Association, and was supported by Northeast SARE project LNE 15-343. His notes follow. …
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Building a Hoop House in One Day!
A fun day of learning during a hoop house install during one single day by Nifty Hoops at Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne VT. See photos from the day on our flickr page here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm4yUQUL Like Nifty Hoops on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/NiftyHoops/ Visit Nifty Hoops website: http://niftyhoops.com/ Nifty Hoops has their own YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj0g… Check Out Bread …
Improved Ventilation for High Tunnels
I have received many inquiries about how to improve ventilation of high tunnels from growers with tunnels that have only roll-up sides. The issues they are facing tend to be either high temp, high humidity or both, leading to plant stress or disease. These situations tend to be in less than ideal sites for ventilation …