易胜博官网

Becky Sideman, a vegetable and berry specialist with 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension, will use cutting edge technology to assist with crop research and classroom teaching.

During those endless sultry days last听 June, Rolling Thunder appeared on the crest of the Woodman Horticultural Farm, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) at the University of 易胜博官网. This particular expansion of rapidly heated air didn鈥檛 break the brutal cycle of humidity, however, as the only thing it has to do with weather is to buffer crops from nature鈥檚 extremes and extend the growing season. Rolling Thunder is actually the name of a moveable high tunnel, developed and donated to the University鈥檚 research farm by Rimol Greenhouse Systems of Hooksett, NH. Their innovative design employs heavy-duty wheels with bearings that glide back and forth over extended rails, allowing for the cultivation of up to three 30鈥� x 48鈥� plots. 鈥淒onating a moveable high tunnel to 易胜博官网 was very important to us,鈥� says Bob Rimol, President of Rimol Greenhouse Systems. 鈥淚t serves as both a resource for crop research and a state-of-the-art classroom for teaching new growing methods.鈥�

Specialist in sustainable horticulture Becky Sideman will be teaching some of those new growing methods associated with the Rolling Thunder high tunnel system to students in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture within 易胜博官网. And as a 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension professor, Sideman is also thinking about responding to the most important questions on 易胜博官网 growers鈥� minds. In order to do so, she aims to find out what crops will bring the greatest gains to producers in the region by experimenting with the scheduling of various cropping systems as she slides the tunnel along its tracks throughout the seasons. 鈥淲ith the use of a moveable high tunnel, farmers may not have to make the choice to pull their profitable tomatoes out of the greenhouse early in order to start planting winter greens on time,鈥� says Sideman of one of the many benefits of the Rolling Thunder design.

Sideman is known as the vegetable and berry production specialist with 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension and conducts her research, which has direct benefits to producers throughout the state, with the support of funding from the NHAES. 鈥淏ecky鈥檚 work is of the highest impact,鈥� says Jon Wraith, dean of COLSA and Director of NHAES. 鈥淩ecently, she determined that growers could increase income by more than $10,000 by switching from lower to higher yielding tomato varieties. We can trust her research to bring concrete results that affect the horticultural industry in our region, and we are grateful to Rimol Greenhouse Systems for their additional support of her efforts.鈥�

鈥淭he moveable high tunnel is a great educational component for my work with growers,鈥� says Sideman. 鈥淭hey can drop by and see it in action, but we鈥檒l also have a formal informational tours during Twilight Meetings.鈥� Rimol鈥檚 donation is a boon to both Sideman鈥檚 research and the producers who will benefit from the information she鈥檒l generate. 鈥淩imol has been very supportive of this research throughout the region, donating moveable high tunnels to a few different universities with extension programs,鈥� says Sideman. 鈥淎t Woodman Farm, we now have two high tunnels from manufacturers right here in 易胜博官网 that sell nationally,鈥� she says, referring to Rimol Greenhouses and Ledgewood Farm in Moultonborough. 鈥淗igh tunnel growing started in 易胜博官网 with my predecessor, Otho Wells,鈥� says Sideman. 鈥淗e began by designing low tunnels and row covers and made them bigger and bigger until he could finally work inside.鈥�

This fall, graduate student Connor Eaton will join Sideman in her research, bringing his experience with cropping systems and an interest in small diverse farms to the projects. In addition, organic farmer and four-season farm specialist for Rimol Greenhouses, Clara Coleman, will be using the moveable high tunnel on Woodman Farm as a backdrop to inspire farmers who seek to increase their own growing seasons in the Northeast. Coleman will be working with Rimol Greenhouse Systems to produce informational videos that will ultimately help farmers with their knowledge of growing in the Rolling Thunder greenhouses. 鈥淭he donation from Rimol Greenhouse Systems will help many people with research, teaching, and overall growing,鈥� says Rimol. 鈥淭he long term benefits will not only help people in 易胜博官网, but all over the New England region.鈥�

Originally published by:

College of Life Sciences and Agriculture