Organic disease management in high tunnels: A little piece of the sustainable agriculture puzzle

High tunnels are simple, solar-heated greenhouses. They use much less energy than heated greenhouses.

Winter temperatures are warmer inside a high tunnel than outside, but still much cooler than summer temperatures. High tunnels temper seasonality; they don’t eliminate it.

Many of the growers who use high tunnels for winter vegetable production in our region have problems with a disease caused by a fungus that thrives in cool, moist conditions. Over the past three years I have had the pleasure of working with a team of scientists and growers to test methods of controlling the disease that would be compatible with organic agriculture standards.