A local organization has been awarded a $5,500 grant that will be used to purchase a structure to expand the gardening season at a county garden tended by jail inmates.
USDA Rural Development awarded the funds to Downtown Houston Inc. for purchase of a high tunnel, a greenhouse structure used to extend the growing season for a program situated in downtown Houston. Local Master Gardeners work with select prisoners in tending the garden at the county justice center. Produce is used at the Texas County Jail and allows the county to reduce its grocery costs.
Seasonal high tunnels are increasingly used in gardening operations. They are plastic-covered structures that enable farmers to have crops earlier or later in the season. In high tunnels, plants are grown directly in the ground, and the sun’s heat regulates the temperature inside.
The local one will be 30 x 72 feet with four, 5 x 8 doors, louvered vents and five-foot side walls.