For Connie and Millard Locklear of New Grounds Farm in Pembroke, North Carolina, heavy rain was not simply inconvenient. It could split field-grown tomatoes, mark the fruit and erase the value of a crop just as it approached harvest. Their response was to change the growing environment rather than keep accepting the same loss.
A protected season instead of a short gamble
High tunnels—simple, plastic-covered structures without the full heating and automation of a greenhouse—keep damaging rain off the crop while retaining useful warmth. The Locklears told WHQR that field tomatoes had once produced for only three or four weeks. Under cover, their possible tomato season stretched from June into March.
That longer window changed both waste and income. The family reported almost no discarded tomatoes from the tunnel and estimated that one structure added about US$9,000 in profit in a year. Replacing its plastic cost about US$800, giving the farm a clear way to compare the resilience benefit with the continuing maintenance cost.
Cover crops complete the resilience picture
Protected cropping solves only part of the problem. Between cash crops, living cover protects exposed soil, supports infiltration and keeps roots feeding the soil community. Used together, high tunnels and cover crops address risk at two levels: the tunnel shields a high-value crop at critical stages, while ground cover helps the wider farm hold soil and water through difficult weather.
For another practical look at keeping soil protected between crops, see The benefits of using cover crops on your farm.
Read the original reporting
High Tunnels and Cover Crops: How one farming family found profit in climate resilience was reported by Kelly Kenoyer for WHQR. This KindHarvest brief preserves the farm figures and links readers to the full source.