Transplanting specialty crops at RAREC in southern New Jersey

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On 11 June 2025, fresh-market tomato, eggplant, and bell pepper were transplanted for the second year at the RAREC Agrivoltaic (AV) research site near Bridgton, New Jersey. Each AV block (double panel, single panel, or no panel) contains 10 raised beds (55ft long) that were established between three rows of AV panels spaced 34 ft apart and 74 ft long. The southern most area of each block (~10 ft)  were not used in the study because of additional exposure to the sun on the southern most end of each block. Three reps per bed with a plot size of 15 ft in length with a 5 ft break between plots were marked before transplanting either Sicilian eggplant ‘Palermo’, bell pepper ‘Turnpike’, or fresh-market tomato ‘Red Deuce’. Transplants were set in each plot on-center in the white-on-black plastic mulch in a single row with 12″ between the bell pepper plants and 24″ between the fresh-market tomato and eggplant, respectively, using a water wheel transplanter. Two additional plants were transplanted at the end of each plot to fill in the breaks.

Figure 2. Specialty crop transplants being set in the double panel AV block at RAREC in southern New Jersey. Setting transplants in the last row (closest in the image) will be done after the AV panel reaches solar noon so the tractor can fit underneath the panel which is currently blocking the row.