Gardeners and commercial growers interested in growing produce up to 10 months a year can learn more about it at a workshop Wednesday evening at the Flint Hills Technical College, 3301 W. 18th Ave.
Ted Carey of Kansas State University and Dan Nagengast of the Kansas Rural Center will present the programs about high tunnels in the conference room at the college. Nagengast will speak beginning at 5:30 p.m.; Carey’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m.
A video about high tunnels will be available to view from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and several current producers will be set up to talk about their operations before the formal presentation. Among them will be John Crisp of Shepherd Valley Farm, Karen and Brandon Rains of Chase County and Amy Jordan, extension horticulturalist.
The program has been organized by Bill Hanlon, who is in charge of the Sustainable Living Center at the college. The cost of the workshop is $15 per person.
“It looks like it’s the biggest workshop we’ve ever had out here,” Hanlon said, adding that the pace of early enrollment has been encouraging. “It’s kind of exciting.”
High tunnels, he said, have been used in Europe and Israel for some time to extend the growing season and to provide fresh foods to local communities.
“What they are is just hoop green houses that are covered in plastic,” Hanlon said.
Small versions of high tunnels can be used for residential production and larger tunnels — often 30 by 64 to 100 feet — can be used for commercial growing.
“The only thing they tell you when you put one of those up, if you’re commercially growing, is to have room for the next one, because each one has paid itself off the first year and made a little money besides to pay for the next one.”
Hanlon considers high tunnels as part of the future of agriculure.
“Like right now, we shouldn’t be bringing any lettuce in from very far away,” he said. “We could be growing lots of lettuce here and greens of various kinds and filling all the cafeterias in the schools.”
Hanlon said that in addition to the benefit of having fresher foods to eat, sales of locally grown vegetables keep monies in local economies, rather than sending money out to producers many miles away.
The high tunnels require no heat and, in summer, the tunnel ends can be rolled up to allow wind to blow through and keep the plants from overheating.
“They thought they were going to overheat in the summertime, and what happened is that (the high tunnel) shaded the plants. ... So, it actually worked a little different than they were thinking,” he said.
Residential high tunnels, about 18 by 30 feet, cost about $300, using plans available from the University of Kentucky, he said.
Plants can be grown at ground level, above ground on tables, or a combination of both styles, he said. Commercial high tunnels often are used only at ground level, so tractors can come in as needed to cultivate. Some high-tunnel users place the tunnels on skids or wheels to transport them to different garden plots to increase commercial production, Hanlon added.
A few spaces remain available at the college’s community garden spot for people who want to have a traditional garden, but lack the space to do so, he said.
Hanlon and friends have been working the soil in the plot for the past week, after finding out that the soil beneath the grass was primarily clay.
“When you turn it over and it’s yellow and really shiny, you’re thinking ...,” Hanlon said, trailing off in mid-sentence. “We hauled 11 dump truck loads of black dirt and five truck loads of compost.
“We tilled it 12 inches deep and it’s just beautiful. It turned out just fluffy and perfect.”
About five plots remain, at a cost of $30 per plot, with $10 going for water and $20 to help cover costs of tools and garden hoses, as well as a new hydrant.
More information may be had by calling Hanlon at 341-1335.