Setting up the Tunnel- Part 2

So the tunnel is basically set up now. We pulled the plastic on Monday, and secured it Tuesday. Today we assembled the mechanism to roll the sides up, tilled the ground, ran some irrigation, and started planting! At least as much as I could before it got dark.

Putting up the plastic actually went more smoothly than I thought. It took all of 45 minutes to pull it over the frame, and securing it was simple as well. Or would have been, if it hadn’t started raining. It was pretty crazy. Halfway through the securing process it started storming. The cover is basically a huge kite, so it was very nerve racking watching the wind try to tear it off the frame.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well, and we managed to weigh the loose end down with concrete blocks until the wind stopped.

I’ll be updating as I plant it, with pictures. I already have several flats of stuff ready to transplant.

Building the High Tunnel

Well, I’ve taken a hiatus from mushroom experimentation after those bags of innoculated sawdust failed miserably (more on that in another post). Since late last week I’ve been working on setting up that high tunnel I mentioned earlier.  And not too soon. It’s getting pretty late in the year and all my winter crops have to be out of the high tunnel by the time February rolls around since that’s when I’ll be transplanting the early tomatoes into it.

It’s taking longer than I expected it to, for sure, compounded by the fact that I cut the base of my pinky finger to the bone Sunday afternoon and have been a bit handicapped by it. Thankfully, my dad has been able to pick up the slack on getting the tunnel set up, and as you can see by the picture, the frame is just about done, all that’s left is stretching the plastic and installing the roll-up mechanism for the sides. Then, I’ll start sowing seeds like a madman! Some of the crops I’ll be growing throught the winter include:

• Arugula
• “Kisaku” Chinese Cabbage
• Many kinds of leaf lettuce
• Asian “Sword Lettuce”
• White, Red, and Purple Carrots
• Yu Choy Sum (an Asian brassica)
• Mizuna and Mibuna (two greens in the mustard family)
• Parsnips
• Kohlrabi
• Red Swiss Chard
• Several kinds of beets
• Red-veined spinach

Come Spring, I’ll be planting early tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, charantais melons, and cucumbers.

I’m so excited! 2010 is gonna rock!