Moser's Garden Produce
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Moser's Garden Produce
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|
Click on icon above to go back to HOME page |
Let our fresh fruits & vegetables provide the nutrition you need for healthy living. | |
|
Select other pages from selection at left navigation bar. |
|
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| This is our ninth year using high tunnels (greenhouses) to extend the season on a few crops. We tried different vegetable combinations but find the bottom line to be with tomatoes, cucumbers and basil. |
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Pictured are our two tunnels, 20x96' & 30x96' (left) We can navigate a small tractor into each tunnel to work the soil. |
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Once the ground is cultivated to loosen the soil we amend the soil and prepare to plant. A tractor pto driven rototiller makes a smooth bed (below left). To conserve heat a few years ago we had covered new transplants within a constructed canopy frame tunnel within the main tunnel, a triple cover (below-middle & right). Since outside temperatures are still too cold in late February plants needed to be regularly uncovered for watering for about a month. We did have cold spots under the covers where plants were frost damaged on colder nights. The latest methods just involve filling the tunnel with plants and heating with a wood burner; we now have one in every structure. We also installed more fans , both to circulate the inside air and to exhaust hot air on March and April days. And since we needed electricity for the fans we put in lights so night work is more feasible. |
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| After night temperatures don't drop into the twenties the tomato plants are well on their way. On warmer days we roll up the sides for better ventilation. The boards between rows (below,left) hold the plastic down so the ground is completely covered. They remain throughout the season as walking paths. About eight weeks after planting picking can begin. The tomato plants are continually clipped to the stringlines and a few times during the 9 months of growth we need to lower the lines so plants remain within reach.You can view more of our tomato cropping by clicking on Feature Crop. |
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| Other crops that also do well in the tunnels for us are basil (below, left) and cucumbers . For cucumbers, like tomatoes, the greenhouse frame provides a support mechanism as well as weather protection. Supported cucumbers are easier to harvest, allow for less plant damage during harvest and they are straighter too. |
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| We also have had a small (15 X 40) greenhouse for 16 years. We put new
plastic covering on it 2 years ago since the original film was getting
brittle. But instead of 2 layers of film we now have a layer of bubble
wrap (solar pool cover) sandwiched between two film layers and inflate
both sides of the inner layer. Extra covering has made a big difference
in heat requirements, yet light penetration is still more than adequate.
Most of our vegetable plants spend time growing on the benchtops before being transplanted to the fields. Other plants remain in pots thru the summer within the structure. |
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