Planting Schedules forHigh Tunnel Winter Greens Production Liz Maynard and Erin Bluhm

Department of Horticulture and Landscape ArchitectureJan. 4, 2018Illiana Vegetable Growers SymposiumSchererville, Indiana

3 Crops-Kale ‘Darkibor’ -Lettuce ‘Salanova Red’ and ‘Green Reef’ -Spinach ‘Gazelle’

2 High Tunnels -30’ x 48’ : 6 beds (30-32”x40.5’) with 9 plots (30-32”x 54”)-Organic and Conventional

6 Planting Dates per crop3 Replications per Planting Date, randomized block designAutomated roll-up sides: Open above 70°F, Close below 50°FRow cover over plots below ~25°F (19 g/m2)

Darkibor KaleSeeding Date

(in GH)Planting Date

(in HT)Aug 1 Aug 30

Aug 15 Sept 15Aug 29 Sept 29Sept 7 Oct 14

Sept 23 Oct 28Oct 7 Nov 11

HT 1 Photo Nov. 11

Sept. 29

Aug. 30

Conventional Organic

PD 1 8/30 PD 2 9/15 PD 3 9/29

PD 5 10/28PD 6 11/11PD 4 10/14

Rows 8 in.Plants 9 in.

SEPT 20 MAR 10TRANSPLANTED : AUG 30FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 29

DEC 28

HT 1

Darkibor Kale - 17 harvests between September and April

OCT 17 DEC 20 FEB 1

Leaves harvested with blades at least 8” longGrades : A – no hole larger than ¼” diameter

B – more holes than “A”, no discolorationUnmarketable and Ground

Days to Harvest vs. Planting DateDarkibor Kale

Kale (PPAC 2016)

‘Days to harvest’ increases with later plantingsLate Oct-Nov. plantings not ready for harvest until next year

TransplantDate

First Harvest

DateAug 30 Sept 27

Sept 15 Oct 11

Sept 29 Nov 9

Oct 14 Jan 20

Oct 28 –

Nov 11 –

Marketable Wt. (lb. per 100 sq.ft.) vs Transplant DateDarkibor Kale

(Harvests 9-27-16 through 3-14-17)

Yield decreases with later plantings: delay kale transplant to 9-15 from 8-30 and harvest only 67% (2/3rds) as much.

TransplantDate

RelativeYield

$/100

sq.ft.*

Aug 30 100% $ 960

Sept 15 67% $ 641

Sept 29 28% $ 268

Oct 14 4% $ 42

Oct 28 0% $ 0

Nov 11 0% $ 0*Price of $7/lb. Average at Bloomington, IN, Winter Farmers’ Market between Nov 28, 2016 and April 30, 2017. www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/hortbusiness/price-reports/

LettuceSeeding Date

(in GH)Planting Date

(in HT)Aug 1 Aug 30

Aug 15 Sept 15Sept 7 Oct 14Jan 4 Feb 7

Jan 20 Feb 21Feb 4 Mar 8

Rows 6 in.Plants 6 in.

HT 1 Photo Nov. 11

Aug. 30Oct. 14

Conventional Organic

PD 1 8/30PD 4 10/14

PD 2 9/15

SEPT 20TRANSPLANTED : AUG 30FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 29

JAN 18DEC 5

Green Reef and Salanova Red Lettuce – Heads from 8/30 Transplant Date

SEPT 27 DEC 1NOV 10

GR~Et-J REEF LETTuC.E

S'ALANOVA RED 41'1&+1 TllN~EL 1 1,..ElTUCE l'l.ANTiNE! DATE .1

'

S'ALANOVA RED 41i&+I TllNNEL 1 /6 '----------~ L..ETTtlC£ l'l.ANTiNE! DATE .1. Purr -

PURDUE I HORTICULTURE & E X T E N S ION LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Salanova Red and Green Reef Lettuce in High TunnelsDays to Harvest from Transplantor Seed vs. Transplant Date

Days

to H

arve

st

Transplant First Harvest

Last Harvest

Aug 30 Sept 27 Dec. 13Sept 15 Oct 13 Dec. 13Oct 14 Dec 1 Apr 18Feb 7 Apr 18 May 23

Feb 21 Apr 18 May 23Mar 8 May 3 May 23

Marketable Yield vs. Planting DateGreen Reef Lettuce

Lb. per 100 sq. ft. Lb. per 100 sf. ft. per Week Crop is in Ground

Planting Date 1 (Aug. 30) had a lot of bolting plants.

Marketable Yield vs. Planting DateSalanova Red Lettuce

Lb. per 100 sq. ft. Lb. per 100 sf. ft. per Week Crop is in Ground

GazelleSpinach

Seed Date (in HT)AUG 31SEPT 14SEPT 29OCT 13OCT 31NOV 11

HT 1 Photo Nov. 11

HT 1 Photo Oct. 13

PD 1 8/31

PD 2 9/14 PD 3 9/29

PD 5 10/31 PD 6 11/11

PD 4 10/13

Rows 4 inches apart, 8 rows per bed. Seeded 1 inch apart in rows.

SEPT 20 NOV 28 FEB 17PLANTED : AUG 31

FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 28

Gazelle Spinach - 18 harvests between September and March

Leaves harvested with blades at least 7 cm longGrades : A, B, Unmarketable, and Ground

Harvest Nov. 29 Harvest Jan. 3Harvest Jan. 30

Sep. 29

Sep. 14

Aug. 31

Oct. 13

Sep. 29

Sep. 14

Aug. 31

Oct. 13Sep. 29

Sep. 14

Aug. 31

Gazelle Spinach in High TunnelsDays to Harvest fromSeeding

Days

to H

arve

st

Seed First Harvest

Last Harvest

Aug. 31 Sept 27 Mar. 16Sept 14 Oct 12 Mar. 16Sept. 29 Nov. 3 Mar. 16Oct. 13 Nov. 29 Mar. 16Oct. 31 Feb. 27 Mar. 16Nov. 11 Mar. 16 Mar. 16

Gazelle SpinachMarketable Yield (lb/100 sq.ft.) vs. Seed Date

For every day delay in seeding lose 1.54 lb. per 100 sq.ft.

For 1 week lose 10.8 lb. per 100 sq.ft.At average spinach price of $10/lb. that is a loss of $108/100 sq. ft.

Yield through Mar. 17, 2017

Collaborators: James Farmer, Project PI, and Analena Bruce, Project Post Doc, Indiana University BloomingtonAcknowledgements:Pinney Purdue Ag Center Staff: J. Leuck, M. O’Neal, A. LemanHLA Vegetable Crew: D. Oudman

This project was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant (SCBG-15-002). The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

Thank you for your attention. Questions?

TRANSPLANTED : AUG 30FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 29PHOTO TAKEN : SEPT 20

TRANSPLANTED : NOV 11FIRST HARVEST : N/A

PHOTO TAKEN : MAR 10

TRANSPLANTED : SEPT 29FIRST HARVEST : NOV 9PHOTO TAKEN : NOV 28

PLANTED : AUG 31FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 28 PHOTO TAKEN : SEPT 20

PLANTED : SEPT 29FIRST HARVEST : NOV 3PHOTO TAKEN : NOV 28

PLANTED : NOV 11FIRST HARVEST : MAR 16

PHOTO TAKEN : FEB 17

TRANSPLANTED : AUG 30FIRST HARVEST : SEPT 29PHOTO TAKEN : SEPT 20

TRANSPLANTED : OCT 14FIRST HARVEST : DEC 1PHOTO TAKEN : DEC 5

TRANSPLANTED : MAR 9FIRST HARVEST : MAY 3PHOTO TAKEN : MAR 10