High tunnel popularity
The use of high tunnels, or hoop houses, has increased in Kentucky to extend the production season for a wide variety of crops.
“We’ve got 900 high tunnels in the state now, so there are a lot of people interested in that type of production,” says John Strang, University of Kentucky Extension horticulture specialist in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
“High tunnels enable growers to extend the growing season by planting earlier and by maintaining plants longer than they normally would in open field production. Many growers are able to maintain certain vegetables year-round, even in the winter,” says Rachel Rudolph, UK Extension vegetable specialist.
She points out that potential advantages of high tunnels may include year-round income, retention or gain of new customers, higher prices for crops that would normally be out of season and higher yields. High tunnels also provide crops protection from cold, wind and rain, which is a contributor to higher crop quality.
Read more about high tunnel use in “Mini Farming.”
And more information is available on the University of Kentucky website.
