Practical Farmers of Iowa Talk on Unusual Fruits

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I recently had the privilege of speaking to Practical Farmers of Iowa, an excellent organization, on growing and marketing unusual fruits. There’s about an hour of content covering planning, planting, and several different unusual fruits (pawpaws, kiwi berries, persimmons, and figs) followed by a Q&A.

What started 10 years ago as a backyard hobby has now turned into a commercial orchard featuring a wide variety of unusual fruits. Tim Clymer, of Threefold Farm, shared how he and his wife started their farm business, which includes a U-pick orchard, plant nursery and wholesale outlets for their fruit.

Climate Battery Greenhouse Version 2 and new PSU collaboration

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We recently completed a second greenhouse project on the farm utilizing a revised version of our climate battery. Our plan is to use the new structure for fig production as well as heat-loving crops. We’ve created a new page for information on the structure, how it differs from the original, and revisions to the construction process to make it easier both time-wise and cost-wise. Check it out below.

We’re also excited to announce that we’ve partnered with PSU Harrisburg and their mechanical engineering department on a study of both climate battery greenhouses to improve their operation and the overall design. We’ll post updates on their progress as it begins to roll in over the winter on our climate battery greenhouse statistics page.