High tunnel system produces fall berries
The system is being developed by Small Fruit Extension Specialist Kathy Demchak and Research Technician Matt Cooper. The research is being conducted at the Penn State High Tunnel Research and Education Center located at the Horticulture Research Farm on state Route 45, past Pine Grove Mills.
The system can be for outdoors or in a protected structure like a high tunnel or a greenhouse. It revolves around the strawberry variety Albion, a day neutral variety that is everbearing. The variety can be purchased online from Nourse Farms in Massachusetts, where a wealth of information on small fruit crops can also be found. Albion can be planted in the garden on black plastic mulch or in a protected structure such as a high tunnel or greenhouse. The research high tunnels at the Penn State facility are 17 feet wide and 36 feet long and covered with a single layer of plastic. This research project is one component of a large federal multistate grant from the United States Department of Agriculture that involves evaluating a number of different plastic coverings on the high tunnels and as low tunnels in the field.
In the high tunnels the strawberries are planted in mid-May in 1-gallon grow bags that are white on black where the outside color is white. These are filled with an artificial mix composed of 2/3 peat moss and 1/3 perlite. The pot is 8-12 inches deep, permitting easier management of moisture, which is critical to the production of quality berries. The bags have holes in the bottom to permit excess moisture to drain out. The bags are spaced 1 foot apart in staggered double rows to ensure good airflow around the plants.
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