On warm fall days, bumblebees may hover near the end doors of plastic-covered hoop houses, waiting to target raspberry plants inside. Growers welcome the attention paid to the blooming plants by these foragers. It is another benefit of bramble high tunnel production, a burgeoning method of harvesting raspberries and blackberries in the Northeast.

Funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute has allowed Cornell Cooperative Extension to work with farmers in New York State on developing and studying this low-cost, high-yield crop production method. Extension researchers and specialists study and promote high tunnel production for cut flowers, fall and winter greens, raspberries and blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other crops. With extensive research support from Marvin Pritts and Hans Christian Wien, professors in Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture, and Penn State University researchers, Extension educators and growers are advancing the practice in Chemung, Delaware, Schuyler, Tioga, and Yates counties.

For berry growers, the technique has many benefits. It allows farmers to extend their growing season by ten weeks, a significant economic leg up in helping growers to capture a larger market share, particularly early and late season, when premium prices are paid for raspberries. Instead of mid-June, researchers say, berries may be harvested as early as May. Using high tunnels, growers can continue to harvest brambles through November, as opposed to early October, the conclusion of the field-grown season.

The large, unheated structures, covered in polyethylene, are inexpensive and effective. Researchers say they provide an intermediate level of environmental protection and control between field production and greenhouse production. The construction allows the sides and end walls to be opened to regulate temperature, and the superstructures shield in-ground or container plantings as environmental conditions depreciate. Tunnels require drip irrigation, which allows growers to regulate and control water supply to growing plants.

Janet Aldrich, senior program educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension, Delaware County, works with a small berry grower in a mountainous area to produce high tunnel brambles. The grower is in her second year of high tunnel production and had an enormously successful season. “The berry quality is superior, and she could barely keep up with the picking,” said Aldrich, who in her Extension work has seen increased interest in high tunnels among farmers in Delaware County. Through further education and an Extension-hosted conference, she hopes to introduce more farmers to the method, and spread the word in her county about the benefits of growing produce in high tunnels. “High tunnels provide the protection needed to grow high-quality fruit with lower inputs and to produce high-end crops that add to the bottom line through extended fresh local market sales and value-added processing,” she said.

Learn More: High Tunnel Crop Production Resources

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/faculty/dillard/pdf/SAREFinalReport.pdf

www.fruit.cornell.edu/Berries/bramblepdf/high_tunnel_production_guide.pdf

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/grower/nybga/reports/greenhouseraspberries.pdf