Production Fields & High Tunnels

For over two decades, Sunnyside has produced organic vegetables for the local  foods market. Today, approximately 15 acres, as well as five passively heated high tunnels,  are in vegetable production. Contrary to the narrative that agricultural lands are inherently at  odds with biodiversity, these areas can sustain numerous species of native wildlife with  carefully tailored management practices.

Conservations Practices: Beyond the things we don’t do (e.g., spray synthetic pesticides and  herbicides, apply fertilizers, intensively till the soil, etc.), Sunnyside applies a variety of  proactive practices to increase biodiversity in our vegetable production areas. Perhaps most  important, we take extensive measures to avoid leaving soil bare. These include cover cropping  in “resting” beds, interplanting clover and other species with our crops and mulching with hay.  Beyond the benefits of cover crops for soil health and pest control, we select and manage them with biodiversity in mind. Such crops can provide shelter and food for a variety of bird and insect species during critical times of the year. Rather than use lethal methods to address animal pressure on our crops (e.g., from bear, deer, coyote, etc.), we rely instead on permanent 8’  fencing. Within our production fields, we plant patches and strips of native flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees – such as Indian grass, little bluestem Chickasaw plum, buttonbush and elderberrry – to attract beneficial insects such as spiders, parasitic wasps and bumblebees. We run an extensive trail of nest boxes for Eastern bluebirds and tree swallows (which also prey on insect pests) and provide snags for rodent-eating raptors like red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks. We create corridors of habitat linking our fields to amphibian breeding ponds, enabling young American toads to inhabit these areas after they emerge from the water. We theorize that they are important predators of aphids and other crop-eating insects. Finally, we try to limit as much as possible the use of plastic mulch.  Plastic mulch is a common tool in organic operations, primarily for weed suppression. However, by heating soil, killing plant roots, and leaving soil without organic cover for long periods of time, plastic mulch can have large-scale negative impact on soil microbes that are key building blocks of a healthy soil ecosystem.

Indicator Species: Bats (multiple species), barn owl, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, American kestrel, bobolink, American goldfinch, savannah sparrow, American toad, black rat snake, beneficial insects

Goods and Services: Sunnyside grows a wide range of produce, mostly for sale at local  farmers’ markets and restaurants. Our crops include spring leafy greens, summer favorites like heirloom tomatoes and peppers, fall root crops and winter squashes. We also grow specialty items like turmeric and ginger in our high tunnels.

Explore Other Ecosystem Features

Orchards
Production Fields & High Tunnels
Hayfields & Pastures
Relic & Existing Farm Infrastructure
Native Meadows & Savannas
Ponds
Stream Corridors & Hedgerows
Forest
Manicured Areas