Garden Talk: Using High Tunnels In Your Garden

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show
High Tunnel
Billtacular (CC-BY-NC-ND)

Whether you call it a high tunnel or a hoop house, this simple greenhouse can be an asset to your garden. Find out all about them this week on Garden Talk. We’ll also be talking your questions about spring gardening.

Featured in this Show

  • Want To Have Fresh Tomatoes Until November? 'High Tunnel' Could Be Key

    A “high tunnel,” also known as a “hoop house” or “hoop greenhouse,” is a non-heated structure used for growing plants, and according to a Wisconsin gardening expert, the world of high tunnels is just exploding.

    “The productivity and the quality is much higher and your season is much longer. It really changes the way you garden,” said University of Wisconsin-Extension agent Jason Fischbach.

    He points out that people who try high tunnels usually don’t go back to traditional gardening.

    “In a high tunnel, you (can) have tomatoes from July all the way into November,” he said.

    Some gardeners use them year round, growing spring greens like spinach and chard, he said.

    “They’re so simple but they work so well,” said FIschbach.

    High tunnels are available in kit forms or people can build their own. Fischbach recommends the kits as they are engineered to take all the guesswork out construction and hold up to severe weather like high winds and heavy snow. They are also very affordable, he said.

    There are many options and places to get information on high tunnels. The UW-Extension lists some of these on their website.

Episode Credits

  • John Munson Host
  • Jill Nadeau Producer
  • Jason Fischbach Guest

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