News

It's late winter. The sun struggles to be seen. Seeds need to be started. If you live in the Midwest, this is characteristic of this time of year, and can result in complications. While a simple layer of plastic works wonders, its insulating value is minimal. So even if you have a wonderfully built, tight, and efficient greenhouse, it is challenging to keep the temperature where it needs to be without breaking the bank. This is why we have been experimenting with germination chambers. A germination chamber allows you to heat a smaller space - only that which you need to..

At River Root Farm, we grow a lot of microgreens each week for retail and direct sale. We also host an annual transplant sale, which means we are growing hundreds of transplants in addition to those for on-farm use. This means we spend an enormous amount of time moving trays around in the greenhouse as the season progresses. However, we recently installed our new overhead trolley system, and it is obvious that this is going to be one of the largest time and money savers of 2013. Currently configured as a single loop around the perimeter of the structure, we..

Microgreens are a big part of River Root Farm and City Bitty Farm. Each week, we plant and harvest hundreds of flats of the tender and nutritious greens, meaning we are constantly searching for ways to minimize labor and maximize production of this valuable salad crop.  The traditional method of harvesting microgreens is to use a pair of scissors or a knife to slice the greens at the desired height prior to washing. With practice, one can become quite efficient with this method. However, by simply exchanging the scissors for electric grass shears, the harvest can be done in a..

We have been lucky enough to receive a few sunny, warm days in NE Iowa, meaning the it is time for the first planting of the year. After amending the soil to achieve the proper nutrient levels, we worked the soil with the broadfork and tilther. The bed preparation rake and bed roller were then used to form the 30" beds. In our 30' wide high tunnels, we are able to fit eight 30" beds with approximately 12" walking paths between beds. Next came the moment for which we had been waiting all winter - the first seeding of 2013.  Using the four-row seeder,..

Now is the time of year to get serious about planning for the upcoming growing season. Whether you are a full-time market grower or a home gardener, the seed catalogs are full of options that could create a colorful, bountiful, and delicious season. There are several resources that we would like to mention again that will certainly help with the development of crop plans and planting schedules. Please visit the links below for more information. Michigan State University High Tunnel Planting Schedule Offers seeding and transplanting dates for several crops grown in the Michigan State University High Tunnels Johnny’s Selected Seeds..

There are several opportunities to meet with a Four Season Tools representative this conference season and we would love to show you some of the products we offer. We will be traveling around the country participating in some great events. Come, have a conversation with us, and enjoy the amazing atmosphere of all these superb conferences and tradeshows. December 12-14, 2012 --  Young Farmer's Conference & Slow Tools Summit                                         Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture                                          Pocantico Hills, NY January..

     We are happy to announce that we have created a couple of new ways in which you are able to follow the happenings of Four Season Tools. We have continuously been updating our archive of informational videos available for streaming on YouTube. We have a large selection of videos that outline the installation process, providing valuable information about how to prepare for, build, and maintain a Four Season Tools structure. In addition to these, we have put together several videos that provide relevant information about season extension, growing in high tunnels, `useful tips for efficient farming, as well..

    We just came in from the fields where we were digging one of the favorite crops at River Root Farm - garlic. We are growing four varieties of garlic this year, each distinct in its own way. Recently we discovered the numerous garlic varieties fall into different groups, each with characteristics that define the group and give us reasons to love them.     Garlic is most commonly asexually propagated by planting individual cloves in the fall in our area and harvested in late spring/early summer. It is typically recommended to have a 5-6 year rotation on garlic..

    Pruning of tomatoes is a common practice among high tunnel growers for many great reasons. Not only does it provide a neat working environment in your high tunnel, but it also increases the volume and length of production and limits the plants' susceptibility to diseases. Benefits of Pruning Tomatoes     Tomatoes spend the first month of their lives devoting all of their energy to produce rapid shoot and leaf growth. This quick growth has a couple of effects. First, with more leaf surface area, there is more tissue devoted to photosynthesis (the process by which plants convert sunlight..

    At River Root Farm, the farm of Agriculture Specialist Mike Bollinger and his wife, Katie Prochaska, the farmers' market season is well under way. What has been amazing is to see the direct financial benefit from the usage of movable high tunnels on this farm. At River Root Farm, there are two 30'W x 48'L V-Track high tunnels. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and flowers currently populate these two structures, but not long ago they were covering early crops of carrots, turnips, kale, spinach, asian greens, scallions and lettuces. Thanks to the movable nature of the structures, these early crops..

 You may have noticed a few updates to our website as of late. We are proud to announce the launch of our ecommerce section of the website where you can view, search, and purchase several of the products we offer. It is certainly still a work in progress, but we are working to get our entire product line with detailed information up as soon as possible. Simply visit the FST store page here or navigate using the header on the website's main page. There you will find soil blockers, seeders, hand tools, and a variety of other items that are available to..

Greg Garbos, president and founder of Four Season Tools will be leading a free workshop hosted at the Misener Family Farm in Belton, MO. Join Greg and the Misener family as they install their 30'x48' movable high tunnel on skids and learn about the benefits and methods of using movable high tunnels for season extension. Lunch is provided for all helpers, so bring your work boots and questions. Where: Misener Family Farm, 20822 S. Dean Road, Belton, MO 64012 -- Click here for directions. When: Saturday, April 7, 9am-4pm Directions: Exit off of 71 Hwy at 163rd/Y Hwy Exit. Go west..

    This past weekend (23-25 Feb) was the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI. With over 3,000 attendees, this is the larges organic farming conference in North America. Each year, MOSES hosts many fantastic workshops and lectures by renowned figures in the organic field. This year was no different.     Our very own Mike Bollinger, along with Adam Montri of Ten Hens Farm and Michigan State University, presented all three days. They hosted an Organic University series of courses entitled “Growing Dollars in Your High Tunnel,” which quickly sold out. Mike and Adam presented two more workshops on..

This year was a huge success for Four Season Tools. We had several great opportunities to build high tunnels all over the country that allowed us to meet folks that are brand new to high tunnel growing, as well as those who are expanding their season extension systems. We visited a couple of farmers in Burlington, Wisconsin recently to help them out with their two-position 30’x96’ high tunnel on V-Track. Despite some cold weather and a little rain, we were able to get the frame standing in four hours with the help of some really hard-working locals. This is the..

If you are anything like us, you have probably found yourself poring over seed catalogs and field plans for the coming season. This can be an overwhelming task with the endless supply of information available.  Here are a few links to resources you may find helpful as you prepare for the coming season:   Michigan State University High Tunnel Planting Schedule Offers seeding and transplanting dates for several crops grown in the Michigan State University High Tunnels Johnny’s Selected Seeds Seed-starting Date Calculator Interactive tool designed that provides recommended seeding and transplanting dates for several field crops according to your frost-free..

While the warm weather in the Midwest makes it a bit hard to tell, winter has certainly arrived. That means we have been keeping busy with a variety of great conferences and events. We just got back from the Great Plains Growers Conference in St. Joseph, MO where Mike presented on the economics of high tunnels and Greg shared information about utilizing high tunnels in urban settings. If you missed us there, there are plenty of other opportunities to come out and learn a bit about high tunnels. Below you will find a list of upcoming conferences Four Season Tools..

As the weather shifts, the crops in our fields change, and so begins the next round of conferences and tradeshows. Four Season Tools will be at the National Small Farm Tradeshow in Columbia, MO November 3-5. In addition to having a booth to be able to discuss our products,We're also slated to give a presentation titled Economics and Success of Movable High Tunnels. This will prove to be a great day of learning for all present, make the effort if you are anywhere near Columbia! Here's an email we received last year about our presentations & field day at the same..

Welcome to the new Four Season Tools website. This has been a long overdue upgrade! We will continue to add depth to our new website so please continue to check back in with us to see what we make available. At the same time we also intend to develop this blog to keep you current with Four Season Tools.  In addition to posting valuable information regarding us and our products, we'll also use this as a networking tool to post upcoming events