Q&A

DEAR NEW FARM:
Having been raised within 70 miles of the Michigan State University farm you mentioned in a recent article, and having spent several weeks there at 4-H events, I would like to know how warm the high tunnels stay when they get the 10 below and 30-mile-an-hour winds in January and February.

This would at least give me some ideal on what temps you could expect in different climates.

Thanks,
Dave

DEAR DAVE:
Thanks for catching our article about the innovative Student Organic Farm at Michigan State University, where John Biernbaum, Ph.D. is training a new generation of organic farmers. Biernbaum’s research into high tunnel season extension, while not the focus of the piece, is helping to fund the farm and also makes possible a CSA that operates 48 weeks a year.

We posed your question to John. Here’s what he had to say:

“With regards to the low temperatures in the hoophouses, under the frost fabric the coldest temperatures are about 15°F, even with minus 10°F outside and with the wind.

“The low temperature is dependent on how much sun there was the previous days and upon the season. It could be warmer under the frost fabric in December than in February for the same outside temperature.”

NF

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