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Extending the Growing Season in Northern NY

Spring is here which means local greenhouses and high tunnels are filling quickly. Some businesses focus on growing transplants of flowers, vegetables, and herbs for sale to the public and others plant into the ground for a bountiful harvest later in the season. 

Last month, 19 farmers and gardeners participated in the final 2023 Ag and Food Producer Academy course organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension, Planning and Maintaining a High Tunnel or Greenhouse. The group was eager to learn how to incorporate protected structures on their own property, to extend the growing season and grow crops that otherwise might be challenging in northern New York. 

A wealth of experience was shared throughout the three online sessions and field trip day to local greenhouse businesses and high tunnels. Here are a few tidbits we gleaned from our course instructors and field trip hosts. 

  1. Determining Your Structure Size and Soil Management Plan

Judson Reid, Course Instructor and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Vegetable Specialist emphasized proper structure size and soil management tools. Jud explained that it’s sometimes easier to start with a larger high tunnel or greenhouse so you can grow into it, rather than trying to scale up from a smaller one as your operation evolves. He walked course participants through considerations to determine the correct structure size for their business. Jud also strongly recommended having a soil management plan.

A man stands in a high tunnel between plants, speaking to a group.
Jud discussed air circulation in high tunnels and greenhouses during the field trip.

Soil tests are crucial to manage soil health and he suggests including a fertilizer injector into your system as a cost effective and efficient way to make adjustments to grow robust plants.

2. Finding Funding

Lindsey Pashow, Guest Instructor and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agriculture and Business Development and Marketing Specialist, discussed searching and applying for grant funding based on your farm and high tunnel or greenhouse needs. She suggested making a list of your needs and starting with internet searches, finding the past timings and deadlines of grants, and looking at past projects to see if your project is similar and a good fit. 

Read more Extending the Growing Season in Northern NY

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Developing Skills with New Food Entrepreneurs

Every business owner comes to their work with unique strengths. Some folks start with a solid background in planning and business, while others know kitchens and food safety well. One business owner might have building and design experience, while others are proficient at developing marketing materials and outreach. Each one of these skills and many more are required when running a food business. One aspect of my job as manager of the shared-use Harvest Kitchen at the Extension Learning Farm is offering technical assistance to food entrepreneurs. Part of the technical assistance equation is understanding  a person’s strongest foundational skills and filling in with supportive information and resources where needed.

This winter, based on the most common questions I was fielding throughout the year, I designed a 3-week class called Creating or Renting a Commercial Kitchen for Your Food Business for the Ag and Food Producers Academy. In January, the group met together online in the evenings for three sessions, and we all came together for a field trip at the close of the course. 19 businesses participated and had wide ranging business ideas including dehydrated products, baked goods, prepared foods, and more.

At the close of our month together, Extension asked the class participants which aspects of the course were most valuable for them as they move forward in diversifying an existing business or starting fresh with a new idea. We had so much fun together unraveling this important and complicated topic, I wanted to share some of their comments below alongside photos of the course experience.

1. Making Connections
“I gained some new friends and I learned what others are doing locally with commercial kitchens.”

group picture
During the field trip participants toured three different facilities of varying scale and use including Kent Family Growers in Lisbon, the Harvest Kitchen at the Extension Learning Farm in Canton, and Big Spoon Kitchen in Potsdam.

2. Learning about Recipe Approvals
“It really demystified the scheduled process for me and the whole process is much less daunting than I originally imagined.”

picture of sauerkraut
Many food products require approval before being produced for sale to the public. One aspect of the course was walking through that process, and the course participants got a chance to learn directly from a process authority at the Cornell Food Venture Center.

Read more Developing Skills with New Food Entrepreneurs

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Grafting apple trees with St. Lawrence Nurseries

It was a joy to partner with St. Lawrence Nursery (SLN) of Potsdam for the first time to offer an apple tree grafting workshop at the Extension Learning Farm. This year St. Lawrence Nurseries is celebrating its 100th anniversary of propagating and selling cold hardy fruit and nut trees.

During the workshop nursery owners, Conner and Alyssa Hardiman walked the eager participants through the “whip and tongue” grafting technique including photos from the nursery, a live demo, plenty of time to practice on twigs, and then the real thing!

Connor Hardiman demonstrates the "whip and tongue" grafting technique
Connor Hardiman demonstrates the “whip and tongue” grafting technique

Grafting is a propagation method that entails joining a scion (which becomes the fruiting part, or top of the tree) to a rootstock (which becomes the root of the tree). Grafting aligns the vascular tissue which allows the two parts to grow together and function as a single plant. While the rootstock influences the ultimate size and hardiness of the tree, the scion determines what kind of fruit the tree will yield.

Scion wood from St. Lawrence Nursery
This scion wood from St. Lawrence Nursery will form the fruiting portion of the apple tree.

Workshop participants left with five grafted trees of their own making. Each included the hardy rootstock Antonovka (originally from Russia) paired with the scion wood of their choice from the SLN orchard. Apple varieties on offer included Liberty, Rhuby, Atlas, Beacon, and MN-1734 (a russet cider apple). Read more Grafting apple trees with St. Lawrence Nurseries