Rutgers Cooperative Extension Offers A High Tunnel Winter Lettuce Workshop

Jess Niederer of Chickadee Creek Farm, explaining her winter lettuce production efforts and high tunnel use recommendations, will be both on film and in person to present at the workshop and answer any questions. Niederer was named the 2016 National Outstanding Young Farmer from the Outstanding Farmers of America. Photo: Jeff Heckman

Submitted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County is offering a “High Tunnel Winter Lettuce” workshop from 5:30 to 8 o’clock in the evening on January 31, 2017 at 310 Milltown Rd. in Bridgewater.

The class is being offered as part of the RCE’s Ultra-Niche Crops Series of workshops. The cost for this workshop is $20 and includes a lite supper at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m. and light refreshments at the conclusion of the workshop. To register for this workshop, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/rutgers-cooperative-extension-7714519251?s=70373360 .

Ultra-Niche Crops are exceptionally high value crops that can be grown on small acreage. The project goal is to teach new and beginning farmers about the cultivation, marketing, and business management of 10 “ultra-niche” crops. Attendees will learn how to make more money with less land and how to grow and market their crop. The advantage of high tunnel lettuce is that they are a hardy, cool season crop that can be grown in high tunnels 12 months of the year. There are several lettuce types and several hundred lettuce varieties that are commercially available for growers and differ by color, texture, maturity and head size.

“Our goal for this project is to help the next generation of farmers achieve both crop and financial success and also assist existing farmers in improving their profitability,” Nick Polinan, Agricultural and Natural Resource Agent for Somerset County, said in a release about the workshop.

For more information call Jenny Carleo, Agricultural Agent at (609) 465-5115 or email Jennifer Matthews at jlm479@njaes.rutgers.edu. To join the mailing list for information on future classes, go to http://tinyurl.com/ultraNiche .

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County helps both youth and adults improve their knowledge and skills, enhance their quality of life, and resolve problems in areas of food, nutrition, health and wellness; food safety; agriculture; environmental and natural resource management; and youth development. This is accomplished through the use of science-based knowledge and university research. Rutgers Cooperative Extension is an education organization within the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.

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