Grower hopes to extend production season with high tunnels

Patterson Farm in China Grove, N.C., is growing 1 acre of strawberries under experimental high tunnels. The Salisbury Post reports that the 3rd generation grower along with N.C. St. Univ. received a $150,000 grant to try to lengthen the production season for strawberries. The goal of the project is to allow North Carolina farmers to better compete with crops from California and Florida. The grant was awarded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund. Brothers Doug and Randall Patterson are working with N.C. St. Univ. strawberry breeder Jeremy Pattison. The 150 ft. poly-covered tunnels could extend the growing season from 8 weeks to 6 months. The newspaper reports that tunnels at the university’s Piedmont Research Station have been in use for 3 years and produced better-than-expected results, nearly tripling the number of berries harvested from each plant. Pattison told the paper they now want to see how the plants perform in the tunnels on a working farm. His goal is to breed a strawberry plant that is specifically designed to do well in North Carolina soil and grown in high tunnels. Although Patterson Farm offers pick-your-own strawberries to the public, the paper said the fruit produced in the high tunnels will be carefully monitored and picked only by company employees.