OBSERVATIONS FROM A NEW GROWER USING PLASTICULTURE IN STRAWBERRY AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTION Mike and Dianna Wilson Lily Lane Farms

OUR STORY  Lily Lane Farms – started in 2012  21 acres located in Enfield, IL  We grow strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, greens, cucumbers, and squash  Sell mainly at farmers markets locally and in St. Louis, also in local restaurants and from the farm

FIRST YEAR WITH STRAWBERRIES ON PLASTICULTURE

 LAYING PLASTIC  19 rows, 275 feet long  28 inch wide, 3-4 inch tall ridges  4 foot black plastic  Observations:  Make sure closing wheels are set correctly to get adequate dirt back over the plastic so that plastic does not come loose  Work soil finely before starting, the beds will form a lot better  Lay ridges first, then lay plastic  Borrowed a mulch-layer, took a while to set up

FIRST YEAR WITH STRAWBERRIES ON PLASTICULTURE  PLANTING STRAWBERRIES  Planted 8,000 Chandler plants  Staggered 14 inch spacings  Took 8 hours to plant them  Observations:  Good to have a holding tank to quickly fill setter water  The spike we used was too big  Pressed in plants behind setter

FIRST YEAR WITH STRAWBERRIES ON PLASTICULTURE  ROW COVERS  1.5 oz per yard  36 foot wide  Used concrete blocks every 15 feet to hold down  Covered low of 38 degrees  Observations:  Make sure you use the correct oz/yard, it does make a different  Can be re-used if stored properly

FIRST YEAR WITH STRAWBERRIES ON PLASTICULTURE  PRODUCTION  5762 total quarts picked  Picking season May 1 st to June 26 th  Seven days picked more than 300 quarts per day  Highest production day May 17 th  726 quarts picked  Observations:  Picked from 6 am to am each day  Plastic kept berries out of mud

 LAYING PLASTIC AND PLANTING  Bought our own mulch-layer and setter  4 foot plastic  Tomatoes  Cherry tomatoes  Peppers  Yellow squash  Cucumbers  Zucchini FIRST YEAR WITH VEGETABLES ON PLASTICULTURE

FIRST YEAR WITH VEGETABLES ON PLASTICULTURE IN HIGH TUNNEL  LAYING PLASTIC AND PLANTING  Plastic was laid by hand  Time consuming  Hard to keep tension  Mid-June high tunnel came down

FIRST YEAR WITH VEGETABLES ON PLASTICULTURE  PRODUCTION  210 yellow squash  649 cucumbers  1727 peppers  pounds tomatoes  102 pints cherry tomatoes  218 zucchini  Observations:  Not as much cracking in tomatoes  Easier to pick

CONTACT INFORMATION Michael mobile: (618) Facebook: Lily Lane Farms