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Stretching the Summer: Profitable Zone 4 Season Extension at Pleasant Valley Farm
By Jody Padgham May 2003
©2003 Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

Paul and Sandy Arnold have been operating Pleasant Valley Farm in Central New York since 1988. Desiring to have the farm support their family of 4, they were able to realize that dream within 4 years of starting their farm operation. The Arnolds define profitability as "being able to pay off yearly bills, to maintain the farm infrastructure, to invest money back into the farm, put money away for retirement and have a comfortable lifestyle." The Arnolds have identified 5 key factors to maintaining profitability on their 60 acres, which includes 5 acres of mixed vegetables, 1 acre of large fruits and ½ acre of small fruits.

Keys to achieving profitability include:
Ø Good business management techniques
Ø Effective and simple record keeping
Ø Ongoing soil improvement
Ø Creative marketing and
Ø Season extension

At the 2003 Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference, the Arnolds elaborated on the season extension techniques that they feel have been most significant in contributing to their profitability. They estimate that through season extensions they have increased annual farm income by 25%, adding production in May, June, October and November. They have chosen not to sell product year-round, so that they can focus on family and other joys in the winter.

Early in the presentation it becomes very clear that the Arnold's are meticulous in tracking time and production, enabling them to quickly know when a change improves the bottom line. All expenses, activities, time contributions, harvests and losses are closely tracked. In explaining effective ways to extend their season, they speak from a clear knowledge of the ultimate effect each system has on the overall bottom line.

The Arnold farm rests in zone 4, where they are generally able to work the soil during the first week of April. They have a well drained rocky silt loam soil that is about 7 feet deep.

The Arnolds have found that the effective use of row covers allows then to plant starting April 1, which produces product to sell by May 1. They use Agrabond P-19 cover, 20-30 feet wide, using 2-5 layers in the coldest conditions. Under these covers they plant early peas, carrots, spinach, beets and other early crops. They have found multiple layers of row cover can protect young plants down to 15 degrees. They have been able to direct seed early, but also plant in the greenhouse in March and transplant out under covers in April for a June 1 beet harvest. Potatoes are planted in early April under row covers, and harvested the third week of June. Lettuces and other more tender crops are protected under the covers with small hoops made of #9 galvanized wire in a cloche-type arrangement.

Another method of season extension is the use of large "field houses". The Arnolds have been using 96 by 14 by 7 ft high temporary field houses since 1992. An interesting twist to these houses is that they are built in either the fall or early March, and then removed and pieces stored in early June until they are put up again the following season. The effort of putting the houses up and down is offset by the advantage of moving to new ground each season, and the lengthened life for the plastic and supports.

Original houses are made of 1" PVC 20 ft long that are hooped into 18" galvanized 1 ¼ " pipes (throw-aways from the chain link fence industry) that have been pounded into the ground every 4 feet, 14 ft apart across the house width. A PVC ridgepole is duct-taped across the top of the hoops, and a stabilizer angled onto each side in the spring. These houses are put up in early March, each year on new ground. The Arnolds have upgraded in the last few years to ¾" galvanized water pipe that has been bent at the top with a jig, but they used the PVC for many years successfully and recommend that for those looking for a lower cost alternative. Metal ridged houses are put up in October. Each house is covered with 24x 110 ft "three year" plastic, which lasts 5-6 years. The plastic is dug into the ground about 6" on the sides. Ties are added later so the plastic can be pulled up on the sides as the weather warms. PVC houses cost about $600 to build, galvanized about $800 (most of the cost is in the plastic). Houses are generally unheated, unless housing tomatoes or peppers.

Tyee spinach plugs are planted in the field houses in March, with rows on 12" centers and 5" between plants. Harvests begin in May. Two field houses are planted with spinach over a 4-week period. The Arnolds estimate that the early spinach yields them about $100,000 per acre (no, they don't grow an acre, but that is a good frame of reference for their productivity figures). They direct market 1/3 lb bags of leaf picked, washed spinach for $2.00/bag and bring in about $3,200 from the two houses.

Lettuce plugs fill one house, with weekly plantings starting in March. Plugs are planted in rows with 12" centers, plants 8" apart, yielding enough May lettuce to bring in about $3,100. Both lettuce and spinach have row covers over emerging plants in the colder part of the season. Once temperatures inside reach 70 degrees, the plastic sides are raised to increase air circulation.

Tomatoes and peppers are brought into the houses in May, with heavy straw mulching. The straw produces heat, and Paul says they have to watch problems with reflective heat as the plants can get sunburned on stems and the undersides of leaves with the straw mulch. If temperatures drop below 40 degrees, a portable propane heater is brought in. Irrigation in the houses consists of a drop nozzle mounted on a main overhead plastic pipe or drip tape.

One house handles winter greens, which are row covered during the coldest months and harvested for friends and family all winter. These winter grown greens do not need to be irrigated, as moisture is adsorbed from snow and rain on the ground outside. All of the houses are taken down from over the plants around June 1, allowing the tomatoes and peppers to mature in the outside air.

Another season extension technique that has been quite successful for the Arnolds is utilizing a frost irrigation system. Running black irrigation pipes underground, they can activate a switch from the barn that will turn on a pump submersed in the farm pond. Overhead sprinklers spray vulnerable crops such as raspberries and tomatoes. The water freezes, protecting the crop from further frost damage. As the water freezes it generates heat, which further protects the plants. They say this system has allowed them to extend picking deep into October for these warm season crops. In the spring, strawberry flowers are also protected using this technique. They do caution that too many cold days will cause ground saturation and heavy ice build up which can cause damage, so the system is most appropriate for the occasional early cold days sprinkled in amongst the warm.

The Arnolds complete their session with detail on the complexities of their record keeping processes, which allow them to know how a crop is performing financially. They maintain a "$10,000 per acre rule" which states that a crop is not holding its own unless it will average at least $10,000 income per acre (extrapolated). They have tried production of various things that have not met this rule. Anything in this situation will either be improved till it meets the rule, or taken off the production list and replaced with something that does meet the standard. Over the years, sticking to this rule has allowed the Arnold's to achieve their dream of full sustainability on a small, diversified farm. They are quick to point out that several other factors contribute to their success (remember the list at the front of this article), and emphasize diversified marketing systems, money management and soil and disease management as also very important in their success.

Those interested can purchase a tape of the session titled "Profitability Through Season Extension" from the 2003 Midwest Organic Farming Conference by contacting Resource Express at 800-535-3830 or www.rexp.com

Jody Padgham is the Education Director of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service.