Hello my name is Megan Letendre and I am a senior at UNH majoring in
Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (SAFS) and EcoGastronomy. I am
a student participating in the new Food Production Field Experience
class in the high tunnels offered at UNH. This is my
second semester enrolled into the class and I am really enjoying it!
For those of you who do not know about the class, it is held in the high
tunnels located by the conventional dairy barn and produces food for
the Dairy Bar and Dining Services at UNH. High tunnels are hybrid
greenhouses that do not have a cement floor and are
not considered permanent structures like greenhouses.
Often times they
are not heated. However, we have both a heated and an unheated tunnel
for the class. This allows us to grow crops throughout the year even
though New England has unsuitable growing conditions
during many months. The heated tunnel is kept just above
freezing during the coldest months of winter. Inside this tunnel, we
produce our leafy greens including salad mix and head lettuce for use in the UNH Dairy Bar.
In the unheated tunnel,
we produce more cold hardy crops in winter such as radishes, carrots and
onions. The tunnels allow us to grow crops year-round for UNH Dining
and provide us with the opportunity to start summer crops very early in the
season. This gives us the chance to have summer
crops such as tomatoes much earlier than other growers in the region.
The class offers students the opportunity to get hands-on experience and
really get their hands dirty. In my experience with the class I have
learned a tremendous amount. This includes but
is not limited to the use of specialized tools such as seeders, hand
tillers, and even the tractor! I have also learned a great deal about
the media side of agriculture and the importance of keeping records of
the farm such as planting and harvest dates.
Anyone
attending UNH interested or involved in Sustainable Agriculture should
definitely consider joining the class in the future. I promise you won’t
regret it!
