Gutters, which are laid out and tied to posts, are filled with growing medium in February and are planted up with winter grafts. Subsequently the plants are tied to a stake and in September/October they are removed from the gutters and transplanted to the field or larger containers.
A number of the production gutters have been equipped with catchment gutters that capture excess water and nutrients to allow for recycling as well as measurement. This is part of the development of a closed system. Several species of trees are being evaluated in gutters in relation to production in the field. Several different shapes and sizes of gutters are being tested. Moisture sensors have also been installed.
Researchers are still looking for answers to many questions such as: What is the optimum water delivery to optimize growth? Is an overdrain necessary to prevent salt build-up? And can liquid feeding produce better results than controlled release fertilizers?