Six growing programs run from one desert nursery yard
KYE NORDFELT ENTERPRISES LLC builds and tends the structures and starts that carry a crop through the high desert year. Every program below can be booked on its own or woven into a full season plan, and each begins with a walk across the ground at 865 Larkspur Rd, St George - 84790-6770, United States (US).
H
Hoop House Builds
A hoop house build starts with the ground, not the catalog. We read the slope, mark the wind path and set stub posts deep enough to hold through a gust that would fold a lighter frame. From twelve feet to thirty, the arch span is chosen against the crop you intend to carry and the space you can actually reach.
The shell arrives finished. End walls are framed and skinned, roll-up sides are hung on a system you can open from either end, and the hand-crank vent wheel is mounted on the gable where a grower walks past it every morning. Anchor plates and ground posts are set plumb, because a straight frame sheds wind far better than a hurried one, and we check the diagonals before the skin goes on.
On handover you get a structure that can be planted the same week. We walk the vent travel with you, show where the roll-up ties off, and leave a simple maintenance note that lists the bolts to check before the first hard wind of the season.
S
Seedling Starts
Our misted benches carry vegetables, herbs and native perennials from the first true leaf to transplant size. Seeds are sown into soil blocks and flat trays according to a schedule worked back from your frost dates, so starts are ready when the ground is ready rather than sitting and stretching on the bench.
Trays are hardened on a moving plan of shade and airflow. Morning light is full, midday sun is filtered, and the final week before pickup drops the mist so stems thicken and leaves set their waxy coat. That hardening is the reason our starts walk into field soil without collapsing under the first hot afternoon.
We label every tray with variety, sow date and a transplant window, which turns a pickup into a small instruction sheet. Growers who want a particular cultivar can reserve a bench slot in advance and we will run the batch to their calendar.
D
Drip Line Setup
Water is the scarcest thing in this yard, so drip is set with care. We size emitters to the soil, running closer spaced heads on sandy ground and wider on heavier soil, then balance the pressure so the far end of a bed receives as much as the near end. A simple manifold at the header lets you run beds one at a time or all together.
Filters, flush valves and an end cap on every line make the system something you can winterize without guesswork. Lines are laid so they can be lifted, inspected and replaced a section at a time, rather than buried under the whole growing area, and the drip tape sits where a hoe will not catch it.
We finish by running the system in front of you, marking the pressure you should see at the gauge and the flush routine that keeps mineral build up from hard water out of the emitters. A drip line set right in spring saves a whole season of hauling water by midsummer.
F
Shade Cloth Fitting
By noon in high summer, unshaded benches can cook a seedling before it has a chance to root. We fit shade cloth to your structure on wire, pipe or rope systems that roll away in minutes, so the cover is a tool you move with the sun rather than a permanent lid that starves the crop.
Density is chosen for the plant. Leafy greens and lettuce take a heavier weave, fruiting crops take a lighter one, and tender starts get the heaviest cover during the week they first leave the mist bench. Attachment points are spaced so the cloth stays tight on a windy afternoon and does not whip itself into shreds.
We also show the roll pattern that keeps the cloth off the roof peak when it is fully open, since trapped heat under a bunched cover can undo the shade it was meant to give. When the season softens, the whole system stores on a single rack by the door.
E
Season Extension Plans
A season extension plan is a written document that maps your frost dates, crop choices and structure options into one calendar for the year. We pair row cover, cold frames and hoop timing so you gain weeks at each end of the season, and we match each move to the ground you actually have rather than an ideal plot.
The plan names which crops are worth pushing early, which are better planted into the shoulder season, and where a simple low tunnel earns its keep. It also marks the weeks when a hoop should be vented hard, when shade should drop, and when cover should go back on ahead of the first cold night.
Because the climate here swings between a cold dawn and a scorching afternoon, the calendar is tuned to real local weather rather than a national chart. You leave with a document you can tape inside the door and follow week by week.
B
Soil Block Sales
We press and sell soil blocks from our own mix, sized for everything from a small herb to a squash start. A block holds its shape without a plastic cell, and because roots air-prune at the open sides, they branch densely instead of circling the way they do in a pot.
Blocks are set out on a capillary mat that waters from below, so moisture reaches the root zone evenly and the surface stays dry enough to discourage damping off. The result is a start that barely notices the move to field soil, since the entire root ball travels with the plant.
Blocks are sold by the tray at the yard, and we press to order when a grower needs a specific size for a specific crop. Bring your planting calendar and we will suggest the block size that fits the transplant window you have in mind.