The Demonstration Site
General Information
At our experiment demonstration site we are growing blueberries, ginger, and turmeric in containers both outdoors and in two types of high tunnels.
We want to compare growth, yield, and pest and disease pressure between the outdoor and high tunnel environments. High tunnels, or hoop houses, are semi-permanent structures that are similar to greenhouses. They can aid in controlling the environment to optimize plant growth. They can protect plants from rain and hail, provide shade, and alter the temperature and humidity, essentially extending the season for crops grown in areas that experience inadequate growth conditions. We built two types of high tunnels: steel high tunnels using a DIY kit from Bootstrap Farmer and PVC high tunnels. We are comparing the cost, effort, and durability of these two tunnel types to see which is a better investment.
We are evaluating several plant varieties, soil mixes, and fertilizer and are also conducting surveys to determine which pests and diseases to watch out for and how best to manage them.
Our production guide will include a step-by-step workflow of how to set up an operation like this from the ground up, all the way from finding a growing site to how to properly irrigate, fertilize, and manage common pests. We will also share which varieties grow best under which conditions and if you can make money growing these crops. Stay tuned for our results!
Visit our demonstration site at the Carlsbad Flower Fields to get a hands-on look at how we built this operation. See which containers we chose to use, how we set up the irrigation system, how we built and secured the high tunnels to the ground, which potting mixes and fertilizers we are using, and how we are managing plant health.
What we're growing
We chose to grow several high value crops because growing and producing crops that can be sold for a higher profit can help to offset high costs associated with starting an urban farm.
We are growing several blueberry varieties that have not been grown widely throughout Southern California yet. The main varieties we are growing are Snowchaser, a very early-season variety with harvest in April and early May; Misty, an early-season variety with harvest in June; and Star, a mid-season variety with harvest in June and July. We suspect that growing all 3 varieties will help to lengthen the growing season, so we are eager to find out. The extra varieties we are growing are San Joaquin, Meadowlark, Farthing, Sunshine Blue, and Jubilee, which may also do well in Southern California.
We are also growing common ginger and turmeric, as well as several other varieties including black turmeric, blue turmeric, yellow turmeric, green turmeric, mild white turmeric (mango ginger), spicy white turmeric (Cucurma zedoaria), greater galangal, lesser galangal, shampoo ginger, and spiral ginger. Galangal is similar to ginger but has a more citrusy flavor. The flowers of shampoo ginger produce a soap-like substance and spiral ginger, which grows leaves in a spiral pattern, has edible flowers.
Click on the photo to learn more about each crop.
FAQs
Why grow blueberries, ginger, and turmeric?
- Blueberries, ginger, and turmeric are relatively easy to grow and can be sold at a high value.
Why grow in high tunnels?
- Growing under high tunnels can provide ginger and turmeric plants with shade and the warmer, humid environment that they prefer.
Why grow in containers?
- Growing in containers makes the operation mobile, allowing growers to easily alter plant spacing as the plants grow, or move the entire operation to a new site if need be.
- The soil in urban areas is often contaminated with heavy metals and unsuitable for growing crops, so growing in containers eliminates the need for soil remediation.
- Growing in containers also decreases the risk of encountering soil-dwelling plant diseases and pests.
Why conduct pest and disease surveys?
- Oftentimes, pest management practices are designed for large-scale commercial operations, so we plan to create integrated pest management practices that are feasible on a small scale.
Why build two types of high tunnels?
- We are comparing steel high tunnels, which were more expensive and labor intensive to build, to PVC high tunnels, which were less expensive and easier to build, to see which system withstands conditions in Southern California best.
Interested in visiting our demonstration site?
Reach out to Lindsey Pedroncelli at Lrpedroncelli@ucanr.edu with "Urban Agriculture Demonstration Site Tour" in the subject line and we'll get back to you about scheduling a tour.