High tunnel program proven on Peninsula

  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Monday, October 27, 2014 10:51pm
  • News

High tunnels are here to stay.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced last month the High Tunnel Cost Share grant program is no longer an interim practice.

“The program has been tested and proven in the last four or five years,” said Meg Mueller, the NRCS Kenai district conservationist. “It is quite popular and proven useful.”

Alaska ranks second in the nation in numbers of high tunnels, Mueller said. Missouri has more, but per capita Alaska is likely in first place, she said.

In the central Kenai Peninsula area there are 79 high tunnels in use through the cost share program, and in Homer there are 161, Mueller said. Another 12 contracts have been approved, but not yet built, she said.

In Alaska growers use high tunnels as a method for season extension and a way to cultivate produce that could not otherwise flourish in the harsh northern climate, Mueller said.

“Production is so abundant and prolific, people tailor their seasons now,” Mueller said. “They don’t start as early and end as late because during the production season it is that much better.”

High tunnels, also known as hoop houses, are hulking metal frames, wrapped in a layer, or two, of polyethylene plastic. Plants are sewn right into the ground, unlike greenhouses where vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown in containers, according to the Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District website.

High tunnel users have the option between Gothic style, a sharply angled structure, or Quonset with a curved roof. The snow shedding Gothic high tunnels are preferable for the Kenai Peninsula, but will force a buyer to drop a larger sum on construction, according to the Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District website.

Seedlings accelerate to maturity inside high tunnels’ soil and temperature is enhanced in the enclosure, said Pam Voeller, NRCS Kenai Soil Conservationist.

This season the Kenai Water and Soil Conservation conducted a survey of local high tunnel owners, Voeller said. The majority of people who entered cost share contracts have maintained the practice, even after the three years of obligatory record keeping required through the program, she said.

People who previously felt that pressure to sign up while it was still an interim practice, now have time to thoroughly develop the site they plan to use for a high tunnel, including soil enhancement, Voeller said. They also have time to identify their needs and design a system integrating the high tunnel that will work best, she said.

The first wave of growers who started in the cost share program in 2010, its first year, are now finishing up the mandatory four-years they are required to stay in production, said Central Peninsula Garden Club President Marion Nelson. That means a foundation of experienced locals ready to help next year’s builders, she said.

Velma Bittick, who has had a high tunnel longer than the cost share program existed, said agriculture in Alaska takes time, patience and some experimentation.

Utilizing any method of production, be it an outdoor garden, heated greenhouse or sun-reliant high tunnel requires knowledge and development of the microclimate a gardener is growing in, Bittick said.

Even 10 feet of elevation makes a difference, Bittick said. Produce doesn’t grow well until the air and soil temperature reach 57 degrees Fahrenheit and thrive around 62 degrees Fahrenheit, she said.

People have tamed the temperatures inside their high tunnels so tropical fruit varieties can flourish, Mueller said.

The high tunnel incentive program was developed with just this purpose — to build high yielding regimens, Mueller said. If people establish a plan they carry through no matter what, they learn what does and doesn’t work, she said.

Advanced management means a more sustainable, productive peninsula, Mueller said.

The Cooperative Extension Service will be holding a High Tunnel 101 class on the Kenai Peninsula College campus on Oct. 30. To register call 907-262-5824.

 

Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Hunter Kirby holds up the hatchery king salmon he bagged during the one-day youth fishery on the Ninilchik River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Mike Booz
Ninilchik River closed to sport fishing

The closure is in effect from June 23 through July 15.

Señor Panchos in Soldotna, Alaska, is closed on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna restaurant owner remains in ICE custody; federal charges dropped

Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon was accused of being in the country illegally and falsely claiming citizenship on a driver’s license application.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough to provide maximum funding for school district

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will receive less money from the state this year than it did last year.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School on Tuesday.
Pools, theaters, libraries in jeopardy as cuts loom

The district issued “notices of non-retention” to all its pool managers, library aides and theater technicians.

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fishing slow on Russian River, improving on Kenai

Northern Kenai fishing report for Tuesday, June 17.

Josiah Kelly, right, appears for a superior court arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man accepts plea deal for November shootings

Buildings operated by a local health clinic and an addiction recovery nonprofit were targeted.

A demonstrator holds up a sign during the “No Kings” protest on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer hits the streets to say ‘No Kings’

Around 700 gathered locally as part of a nationwide protest.

Brooklyn Coleman, right, staffs The Squeeze Squad lemonade stand during Lemonade Day in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kids learn business skills at annual Lemonade Day

Around 40 stands were strewn around Soldotna, Kenai, Nikiski and Sterling for the event.

Planes are showcased at the Kenai Air Fair in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai fair shows off aircraft of all kinds

Cargo planes to helicopters were on display Saturday.

Most Read