The NDSU Extension Service in Cass and Richland counties and University of Minnesota Extension in Clay County are sponsoring a high-tunnel workshop for home gardeners and commercial growers on March 7.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at St. Leo’s Catholic Church Spirit of Life Center at 211 Langer Ave. N. in Casselton, N.D.
A high tunnel is a nonpermanent structure with no electrical service or heating. A single layer of greenhouse plastic covers the frame and lasts two to three years. Vents are opened and the sides rolled up manually. The plants in the tunnel are protected from frost by mulch or row covers.
High tunnels are becoming popular because they allow home gardeners and commercial growers to produce an early crop and extend the end of the growing season. Also, fruits and vegetables grown in high tunnels often are of high quality.
Topics to be discussed during the workshop include, wind generators, basics of high-tunnel production, marketing fresh produce through community-supported agriculture, irrigation and fertigation, current and upcoming crops for high tunnels, pushing the profit pencil with high tunnels, high-tunnel questions and answers, and climate change and regional implications
The registration fee is $25 if paid by March 1. After March 1, the fee is $35. The fee includes a lunch.
For more information or to register, contact Todd Weinman at 701-241-5707, Jason Golz at 701-642-7793 or Randy Nelson at 218-299-7338. An online registration form that can be mailed is available at www.ag.ndsu.edu/casscountyextension.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.