Freezing Temps Can’t Stop Mobile High Tunnel Gardener
Daisy Fair’s moveable hydronic heat system keeps her mobile high tunnels frost-free all winter long. Growing vegetables at 7,000 ft. near Park City, Utah, makes greenhouse heat a necessity. Thanks to her heated high tunnels, Copper Moose Farm had gross sales of nearly $200,000 in 2016.
“We expect short growing seasons with frost in August, but it froze in July the last 2 years,” says Fair. “I’ve been growing vegetables here for 15 years, and I couldn’t believe it.”
The heated beds helped keep the plants safe. Fair uses standard hydronic PEX tubing buried 6 in. deep in the beds. The beds are inside her 30 by 50-ft. and 18 by 50-ft. high tunnels. Thermostats buried in the beds track soil temperature and trigger the pumps to circulate hot water through the PEX.
Fair’s beds extend another 50 ft. beyond the end walls. She practices Eliot Coleman’s year-round market gardening approach, moving her high tunnels and reinstalling the hydronic heating system every fall.
Meanwhile the area that was under the high tunnels is exposed to direct light and cold winter temperatures. Come spring, some will be planted to hardy vegetables, but most will be planted to cover crops in hopes of reducing disease pressure. By late September the beds will again be tilled, PEX tubing buried, and the beds planted. In late October, the high tunnels will be rolled back in place. It’s a process that has been repeated for more than 10 years.
“We put up our smaller tunnel in 2007,” says Fair. “I knew I wanted it moveable, but moveable high tunnels were not available. We welded together huge rails for it to slide on, but it had to be pulled by a tractor. When we built the second one in 2010, we bought a hoop house kit and pieced together a wheel system from locally sourced parts. Later we updated the smaller hoop house with wheels as well.”
The improvements allow Fair and her crew to move the high tunnels by hand. The natural gas water heater that heats the water in the PEX in both high tunnels is moved at the same time.
“It is on a small platform that we only have to move about 10 ft.,” explains Fair.
Each bed has 2 loops of PEX with square ends formed using connectors rather than a tight bend in the tubing. Fair acknowledges that each connector adds to the cost, but she hasn’t had a failure since first installed in 2009.
“We only grow cold hardy greens in the high tunnels in winter,” explains Fair. “We’ll harvest, let them regrow, harvest again and then start new crops.”
Small hoops over the beds and row fabric covers help hold the heat from the PEX tubes around the plants. In the spring, the heated beds provide sufficient heat for germination and protection of transplants.
Fair soon plans to switch over to a no-till system and raised beds. Lines will now be buried semi permanently rather than every fall.
“Burying the lines wasn’t that bad,” she says. “Depending on available labor, we could bury the lines in the smaller greenhouse in 3 hrs. and in the larger one in 5 hrs.”
Her heated high tunnels, along with her passive solar greenhouse, make it possible for Fair to supply CSAs, as well as several local restaurants and a ski resort, with fresh greens throughout the winter and fresh vegetables through the summer. She also operates a farm stand during the summer.
“Without the greenhouse and heated beds, we couldn’t grow what we do in this short season,” says Fair.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Copper Moose Farm, 1285 Old Ranch Rd., Park City, Utah 84098 (www.coppermoosefarm.com).
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Freezing Temps Can’t Stop Mobile High Tunnel Gardener BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Daisy Fair’s moveable hydronic heat system keeps her mobile high tunnels frost-free all winter long Growing vegetables at 7 000 ft near Park City Utah makes greenhouse heat a necessity Thanks to her heated high tunnels Copper Moose Farm had gross sales of nearly $200 000 in 2016 “We expect short growing seasons with frost in August but it froze in July the last 2 years ” says Fair “I’ve been growing vegetables here for 15 years and I couldn’t believe it ” The heated beds helped keep the plants safe Fair uses standard hydronic PEX tubing buried 6 in deep in the beds The beds are inside her 30 by 50-ft and 18 by 50-ft high tunnels Thermostats buried in the beds track soil temperature and trigger the pumps to circulate hot water through the PEX Fair’s beds extend another 50 ft beyond the end walls She practices Eliot Coleman’s year-round market gardening approach moving her high tunnels and reinstalling the hydronic heating system every fall Meanwhile the area that was under the high tunnels is exposed to direct light and cold winter temperatures Come spring some will be planted to hardy vegetables but most will be planted to cover crops in hopes of reducing disease pressure By late September the beds will again be tilled PEX tubing buried and the beds planted In late October the high tunnels will be rolled back in place It’s a process that has been repeated for more than 10 years “We put up our smaller tunnel in 2007 ” says Fair “I knew I wanted it moveable but moveable high tunnels were not available We welded together huge rails for it to slide on but it had to be pulled by a tractor When we built the second one in 2010 we bought a hoop house kit and pieced together a wheel system from locally sourced parts Later we updated the smaller hoop house with wheels as well ” The improvements allow Fair and her crew to move the high tunnels by hand The natural gas water heater that heats the water in the PEX in both high tunnels is moved at the same time “It is on a small platform that we only have to move about 10 ft ” explains Fair Each bed has 2 loops of PEX with square ends formed using connectors rather than a tight bend in the tubing Fair acknowledges that each connector adds to the cost but she hasn’t had a failure since first installed in 2009 “We only grow cold hardy greens in the high tunnels in winter ” explains Fair “We’ll harvest let them regrow harvest again and then start new crops ” Small hoops over the beds and row fabric covers help hold the heat from the PEX tubes around the plants In the spring the heated beds provide sufficient heat for germination and protection of transplants Fair soon plans to switch over to a no-till system and raised beds Lines will now be buried semi permanently rather than every fall “Burying the lines wasn’t that bad ” she says “Depending on available labor we could bury the lines in the smaller greenhouse in 3 hrs and in the larger one in 5 hrs ” Her heated high tunnels along with her passive solar greenhouse make it possible for Fair to supply CSAs as well as several local restaurants and a ski resort with fresh greens throughout the winter and fresh vegetables through the summer She also operates a farm stand during the summer “Without the greenhouse and heated beds we couldn’t grow what we do in this short season ” says Fair Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Copper Moose Farm 1285 Old Ranch Rd Park City Utah 84098 www coppermoosefarm com
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