A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 6, 2003
Farm Science Review
(Continued from Page A 27)
cards, and in-store signs are a
few of the marketing materials
that have been developed to sup
port the brand.
A steering committee of hydro
ponic growers was instrumental
in developing Nature’s Flavors
Produce. Members of the com
mittee critiqued brand names and
logos and provided information
about hydroponic-produce buyers
and consumers, produce labeling
and benefits of locally grown hy
droponic produce.
“We grow and process won
derful products in Ohio,” Don
nell said. “Branding and support
ing marketing materials let
producers and processors tell that
story. During Farm Science Re
view, I will give producers some
of the tools they need to develop
a successful brand and product
identity.”
Along with information about
brand development, Review visi
tors can learn more from Donnell
about hydroponic vegetable pro
duction during an earlier session
on Sept. 16 at 11 a.m.
For a complete listing of this
year’s presentations and events,
go to http://fsr.osu.edu/
sched.html.
Leam The Hoopla
Over Hoophouses
Growers wanting the benefits
of a greenhouse without the ex
pense should look no further.
Hoophouses-mobile, easily con
structed greenhouses-extend
growing seasons, can be maneu
vered by one person and cost less
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than a typical greenhouse, said
Lucy Goodman, co-owner of
Boulder Belt Organics in New
Paris, Ohio.
Goodman will be discussing
hoophouses during Ohio State
University’s Farm Science Re
view, Sept. 16-18, near London,
Ohio. Her presentation will in
clude a small hoophouse con
struction demonstration and will
be held Sept. 17 at noon and 2
p.m. in the Center for Small
Farms.
“Hoophouses enable us to get a
huge jump on mid-summer
crops,” said Goodman, who has
been using hoophouses for four
years. “We can have tomatoes
ripened by the end of June and
by July fourth for sure. And
that’s compared to August, the
typical month for tomato har
vest.”
Hoophouses, because of their
easy construction and mobility,
are perfect for the small farmer,
especially organic produce grow
ers, Goodman said. Organic pro
ducers have to move their crops
in rotation to limit disease and
insect problems and the hoop
houses can follow movement of
the patch.
One person can put the hoop
house together without the use of
power tools. This keeps growers
from struggling with long cords
and having to stay close to
electrical outlets.
Hoophouses consist of metal
conduit bent into hoops that are
placed to form a tunnel over the
plants. Trenches are dug on both
sides of the metal tunnel and
plastic is draped over the hoop
like structures. The plastic is then
put into the trenches and covered
with soil to keep the plastic in
place.
One of the biggest threats to
these structures is wind, which
can whip off the plastic, Good
man said. While it does not hap
pen often, blown plastic can be
easily re-draped over the metal
District Manager
Harvey Doyle
724-459-8580
Ivan Zimmerman
717-354-5826
hoops.
While wind can be damaging
to any type of greenhouse, fixing
wind damage is cheaper for the
hoophouse owner. The initial in
vestment for a hoophouse is
about $3OO, compared to a typi
cal greenhouse that ranges from
$1,500 to $2,000, Goodman said.
The structures also withstand
snow, which melts and rolls off
the dome structure because of the
heat built up inside. During the
winter, sources of heat cannot be
used in a hoophouse-a disadvan
tage compared to large green
houses. However, buckets of
water placed inside the structures
attract heat during the day and
hold heat at night.
“That’s why we chose to use a
hoophouse,” Goodman said. “Be
cause during the winter you can
get out of the weather and be
comfortable-it makes it easier to
go out in the cold and harvest.”
The hoophouses have to be es
tablished before winter because
they cannot be dug into frozen
ground. Most years, depending
on the weather, growers can
work in the greenhouses year
round, Goodman said. Most
growers will work up until about
December depending on what
they are growing.
Growers cannot plant just any
thing and expect it to prosper.
Plant selection is important based
on the season that growers hope
to extend, Goodman said. For in
stance, brussel sprouts, and other
crops that survive frosts are good
in cool-weather periods. Straw
berries, spinach, and other plants
are better at getting a jump on
spring weather.
Farm Science Review Visitors
Help Autistic Kids
Visitors to Ohio State Universi
ty’s Farm Science Review will be
pulling their weight and donating
time for the benefit of autistic
children. People of all ages will
assist in constructing weighted
fabric vests and blankets, to be
donated to the Madison County
Fairhaven School at the end of
the Review.
Volunteers will find sewing
machines, construction lines
and Master Clothing Educa
tors in the McCormick
Building daily during the
Review, Sept. 16-18. Sessions
discussing autism and the
weighted vests and blankets
also will be held Tuesday
and Wednesday at 11 a.m.
and Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
“When you do something for
somebody else, you get warm and
fuzzy feelings,” said Bridgette
Sloan, Ohio State University Ex
tension consumer and textile sci
ences program manager. “In this
particular project, you get posi
tive feedback and service learn
ing for all ages and backgrounds.
It’s eye-opening to kids and ex
poses them to different perspec
tives and cultures to help them
better understand.”
Peg Johnson, director of Madi
son County Mental Retardation
Developmental Disabilities Chil
dren Services, agrees and is anx
ious to educate volunteers on
weighted vests and blankets and
their calming effect on autistic
and other hyperactive children.
The weighted articles apply pres
sure and stimulate the child’s
sensory system, which helps them
to relax. This situation is similar
to that of infants. Because of
their immature sensory system,
infants are comforted by even
pressure from a blanket and
swaddling.
“The vests and quilts offer sen
sory input and help the child to
calm down and interpret all that
is going on in their environment,”
Johnson said. “It’s really amaz
ing. Even when we wean them off
the vest, some children will wear
the empty vest just because it
puts them in their comfort zone.”
The special vests and blankets
have pockets where weights are
added. Weights are put in plastic
bags and inserted into the pock
ets, which are then shut with Vel
cro.
Weights, which range in price
depending on their substance, in
clude everything from rice to
beans to clay, Johnson said. The
type of weight chosen for the
vests depends on cost and the age
of the child. For instance, beans
should not be used in vests for
younger children because they
could cause a safety hazard if the
pockets and bags are opened, she
said.
Modeling clay is more expen
sive, but it heats up when the
child is wearing the vest and easi
ly molds to the child’s body,
Sloan said.
For the blankets, old T-shirts
can be used to stuff the pockets.
The vests and blankets con
structed during the Review will
be made with bright, fun materi
al. The vests will be made with
pastel and primary colors, like
normal vests, so to not draw at
tention to the child, said Sloan,
who also is one of the project’s
coordinators.
Under therapeutic supervision,
the vests are often worn during
certain times of the day, such as
play time. Using fun material will
help the child enjoy the vest that
much more, Sloan said.
“The vests are expensive, rang
ing from $6O to $100,” Sloan
said. “A lot of parents can’t af
ford to purchase the vests, so
they are only worn at school.
This is a wonderful opportunity
to give to those parents, or rather
give to the therapists to distribute
to the parents.”
Sloan and her colleagues hope
to construct 50 vests and blankets
during the Review to donate to
Fairhaven, which accommodates
140 children. Vests and blankets
that are not used by the school
will be taken to the Ohio Autism
Conference later in the fall. A
group of 4-H’ers will distribute
extra vests at the conference and
talk about the start of the project
by a Missouri county 4-H club in
2000.
“I can see our parents who
know their child needs a vest and
can’t afford it just being over
whelmed by this,” Johnson said.
“A lot of time families feel like
they are out there all alone and
projects like this remind them
that they are not,” she said.
Currently in the United States,
about 400,000 people are affected
by autism, Johnson said. Autism
affects four times more boys than
girls and symptoms usually occur
before age 4.
To learn more about autism,
attend the Review’s daily session,
“Weights Work Wonders: Spe
cial Clothing for Special Kids” or
go to www.autismtoday.com.
For a complete listing of this
year’s presentations and events,
go to http://fsr.osu.edu/
sched.html.