The SAFS 680 students are back to work in the field and the tunnels this fall! The fall season is picking up after summer work was maintained by Olivia, Will and Ross. To commence the season, the 680 course participated in an exchange of high tunnels. An experiment conducted by Dr. Becky Sideman resulted in the SAFS team tradingour heated tunnel at the Fairchild Dairy farm for two smaller high tunnels located at Woodman Farm. One of those tunnels is called "Rolling Thunder" and is a movable tunnel manufactured and donated to UNH by Rimol Greenhouses. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant of many varieties were grown in the tunnels at Woodman. All of the freshly harvested vegetables were given to either the Dairy Bar, Holloway Commons, or to UNH's Conferences and Catering.
The growing season was successful overall with a few losses along the way. Garlic grew abundantly, with around 150 lbs. harvested. The melon harvest yielded a large amount as well, but more exciting than that was the variety of melons grown. Three different cultivars of watermelons and cantaloupes along with two honeydew cultivars were grown. Strawberries also grew successfully, particularly the day neutral variety. These berries were growing vigorously until mid September! Though the majority of crops did very well, there were a few that did not. One example was our cucumber crop that succumbed early to a bacterial disease. Also, outdoor determinant tomatoes experienced a bit of early blight, while the tomatoes grown indoor matured beautifully and disease free. Flea beetle pressure was strong on our outdoor grown mesclun greens while lettuce varieties grew heartily outdoors for the duration of the summer. In addition to producing food, general maintenance was done at the farm. The east facing end wall of the unheated high tunnel was replaced with polycarbonate. The hardworking summer crew also created a drainage ditch to ameliorate some of the water issues in one of the tunnels.
The fall brings even more exciting opportunities. Students are busy with crop planning, harvesting and seeding cover crops. In addition, students are in the midst of planning an event in October to show other UNH students and the Durham community more of what we do out on Spinney Lane. We are all also getting very excited for the annual Harvest Dinner in the dining halls, as some of our produce will be showcased! We are so happy to be working together again and bringing the freshest produce to the UNH community!
