
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
by Nicole Sanchez
My second visit to the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) for a workshop on high tunnels, Oct. 4, did not disappoint. Since my first visit to this research farm on the outskirts of Goldsboro, N.C., I had been looking forward to my opportunity to return.
As an agriculture agent working with commercial fruit and vegetable producers, this workshop was of special interest to me. High tunnels are similar to greenhouses, but are less permanent in nature, and usually without a traditional heat source. High tunnels perform several functions depending on the crop grown within. A major function is to extend the growing season either at the beginning or end.
The three-hour session began with opportunities for hands-on demonstration and discussion. Participants learned about organic composting steps, seeding, using cold frames and ginger production in high tunnels. It was encouraging to know that so many are interested in learning more about this under-used way to extend the growing season to have vegetables available when other producers don't. High tunnels, while not for everyone, provide a unique opportunity for some growers to fill a much needed niche in our local food systems.
Extension associate Rick Holness described in detail the ongoing tunnel trials. Row after row of beautiful, large, ripening tomatoes beckoned within. The CEFS team are trying different fertilizer and composting methods to determine what resulted in the highest yield. It appeared that all treatments resulted in impressive yields. Clearly, fresh from the farm tomatoes are possible in eastern N.C. in October.
High tunnels are lots of work, but the price commanded by out-of-season vegetables means the extra effort comes with a financial return. From an environmental perspective, high tunnels are attractive because they rely less on supplemental heat, and more on making the most of heat already present in the environment. High tunnels are not heated or artificially lit all winter, so they will not provide us tomatoes in January or March. But they do enable us to have a greater variety of fresh, local produce for a longer portion of the year without additional reliance on fossil fuels.
High tunnels can also help to ward off disease. For instance, powdery and downy mildew are major problems of the cucurbit family (pumpkins, squash, cukes and melons). Using a high tunnel to minimize splashing and wind can help reduce pressure from these diseases. In this case, the crop could be drip irrigated under cover, reducing the incidence of mildew disease that comes with regular thunderstorms. High tunnels are also used in berry production in some operations.
High tunnels are intended to be movable. Some are built on skids so they can be moved back and forth along a track. This way, a grower can provide protection to plants while they are young, and then move the cover off the plants once they are established. Or, a crop can be started in the open at the end of a warm season and then given protection as the nights grow colder by moving the tunnel over the established crop. Some high tunnels are designed to be easily taken down and rebuilt. Be sure to understand the wind and snow load needs in your area if you are considering a high tunnel.
I’m already looking forward to my next opportunity to visit CEFS. There's some incredible research related to sustainable farming methods. Visit their website at www.cefs.ncsu.edu to stay informed about future workshops and classes at this facility.
For more information, click here.
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There's a track devoted to high tunnels at this year’s Sustainable Ag Conference. To register, click here.
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A Game of Jenga
<p>Think of it as a game of Jenga and the planet's climate system as the tower. For generations, we have been slowly removing blocks. But at some point, we will remove a pivotal block, such as the collapse of one of the major global ocean circulation systems, for example the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), that will cause all or part of the global climate system to fall into a planetary emergency.</p><p>But worse still, it could cause runaway damage: Where the tipping points form a domino-like cascade, where breaching one triggers breaches of others, creating an unstoppable shift to a radically and swiftly changing climate.</p><p>One of the most concerning tipping points is mass methane release. Methane can be found in deep freeze storage within permafrost and at the bottom of the deepest oceans in the form of methane hydrates. But rising sea and air temperatures are beginning to thaw these stores of methane.</p><p>This would release a powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, 30-times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming agent. This would drastically increase temperatures and rush us towards the breach of other tipping points.</p><p>This could include the acceleration of ice thaw on all three of the globe's large, land-based ice sheets – Greenland, West Antarctica and the Wilkes Basin in East Antarctica. The potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is seen as a key tipping point, as its loss could eventually <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5929/901" target="_blank">raise global sea levels by 3.3 meters</a> with important regional variations.</p><p>More than that, we would be on the irreversible path to full land-ice melt, causing sea levels to rise by up to 30 meters, roughly at the rate of two meters per century, or maybe faster. Just look at the raised beaches around the world, at the last high stand of global sea level, at the end of the Pleistocene period around 120,0000 years ago, to see the evidence of such a warm world, which was just 2°C warmer than the present day.</p>Cutting Off Circulation
<p>As well as devastating low-lying and coastal areas around the world, melting polar ice could set off another tipping point: a disablement to the AMOC.</p><p>This circulation system drives a northward flow of warm, salty water on the upper layers of the ocean from the tropics to the northeast Atlantic region, and a southward flow of cold water deep in the ocean.</p><p>The ocean conveyor belt has a major effect on the climate, seasonal cycles and temperature in western and northern Europe. It means the region is warmer than other areas of similar latitude.</p><p>But melting ice from the Greenland ice sheet could threaten the AMOC system. It would dilute the salty sea water in the north Atlantic, making the water lighter and less able or unable to sink. This would slow the engine that drives this ocean circulation.</p><p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/atlantic-conveyor-belt-has-slowed-15-per-cent-since-mid-twentieth-century" target="_blank">Recent research</a> suggests the AMOC has already weakened by around 15% since the middle of the 20th century. If this continues, it could have a major impact on the climate of the northern hemisphere, but particularly Europe. It may even lead to the <a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/39731?show=full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cessation of arable farming</a> in the UK, for instance.</p><p>It may also reduce rainfall over the Amazon basin, impact the monsoon systems in Asia and, by bringing warm waters into the Southern Ocean, further destabilize ice in Antarctica and accelerate global sea level rise.</p>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has a major effect on the climate. Praetorius (2018)
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