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Peppers and Tomatoes in the High Tunnel

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A New year means more crops in the high tunnel. Unlike last year, this year we did not plant any herbs. We focused on planting peppers and tomatoes. We have 5 rows of plants total with Cherry tomatoes in each corner of the high tunnel and 3 rows of jalapenos in the middle. We also have Poblano, Banana, and Lunch Box Mix peppers in pockets throughout the rows. Dave and Brian tilled the high tunnel in early April and about a month later in May, we got our plants. We decided to go with transplants since they have the highest chance of succes. We have had to put out serveral hay bales and have needed to weed several times but over the course of these several weeks the high tunnel has been slowly growing with our first harvest of peppers on July 7th. All of the peppers are at hip height and producing vegetables quite nicely. We should be getting even more produce soon. Here is a collection of photos to show off our progress.
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Trying Out Barley!

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This year for the first time Dave decided on planting Barley! He selected Thoroughbred Barley which is a 6-row barley know for its  its high yield qualities and its high straw strength. Thoroughbred Barley may be known in other parts of the country as winter barley because of its known suitability for the winter weather of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern Regions of the United States. The Plot we picked out for it was the old cut flowers plot next to the High Tunnel. This area is about 1,500 sq. ft. which is plenty of space for planting the barley. Over the course of the winter months here in Anne Arundel County we received moderate snowfall and cold temperatures but the barley was able to continue its growth through that time after ebing planted in October of 2024. Other than occasional fertilization for additional nutrients the Barley was left on its own accord to grow. Eventually towards the end of March and early April the barley began the most notable growth. It continued to ...
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From Young Rye to Big Vegetables

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Starting in the Winter of 2024, we have been quite busy. Dave and Brian worked on planting a Rye cover crop. They used a mix of techniques to plant the vegetables from using the tractor to strip till and seeding to using hand tools and hand spreading. In order to use te tractor Dave had to retrofit the tractor with the help of Brian so the tractor was able to pull a tiller that only tilled a small row of rye. After the plants were seeded they stayed dormant until late may when they really started to poke out of the ground. During that time we had some issues with the weather not cooperating and a groundhog eating some of our crops. But Dave and Mike were able to reseed the cantaloups, watermelons, and pumpkins that were struggling. The weather turned in our favor and the seedling exploded out of the ground with the help of rain and hot weather. Looking back we have had very good progess from when Dave was first tilling and planting the Rye cover crop to now with the vegetables and pump...
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