The plastic it ON!

Thank you to the many family and friends who came over, and braved the mud and muck, to help put the plastic up on the new high tunnel. I couldn't have done it with out you all. Thank you! You will be finding some "Fruits" of you labor in the near future!

All went as planned, including the wind. It would blow, then die down, blow, then die down. As we were carrying the plastic to the side wall, the wind was blowing. 2 minutes later it died. It was calm the whole time we were working on the building. It was much easier because of that!

More pictures to come.

The plastic it ON!

Progress!

I spend most of the day on Saturday and Sunday getting the endwalls up on the new hoop building. It wasn't that hard to do. Dig a hole in the ground, set the post, fill it back in. Level the 2 by 4, attach a bracket at the top (13 feet, 4 inches in the air) screw it in. Move on to the next post. The problem arose because the north end of the tunnel is in the shade. It is January and the ground is frozen! It makes it hard to put in posts. So I had to chip a foot of frozen dirt before I could dig. On the south side, the sun side. It wasn't frozen, digging post holes was easy.

Along the way the 2 by 6 that goes along the edge of the hoop had to be attached. All of these pieces were marked when I took them down and when I put them back up, I was matching cut nails and nail holes. I guess I did a good job!

We still need to add some bracing and blocking between the posts, frame in for the doors and make the doors. Finally, we will add the plastic to the endwalls. Once the plastic is on the endwalls, we will be ready to pull the plastic over the whole building. Once that is done, we will take the smaller hoop building down (in the warm, wind free comfort of the bigger hoop building and reconstruct it at a new location.

All in time, well before planting time that is!

High tunnel when I bought it.



Tunnel with Ends out



Tunnel constructed one hour west of it previous location



Tunnel with endwalls reinstalled



Just a different angle


New home for the small inside hoop

Progress!

Building a tunnel over a tunnel

We have started putting up our new high tunnel this week. We are building it over the existing tunnel because we are still harvesting crops inside it. We also wanted to get the ground posts in before the ground freezes. Also, we wanted to get the hoops up when the wind wasn't blowing. We had to carry the hoops over the existing tunnel and if they were to fall over and land on the tunnel, it would rip the plastic and cause lots of problems. We were lucky to have Derek come out and help us.

I spent 1-2 hours measuring and squaring up the area. Then two nights setting the ground posts. Then finally one more night putting up the hoops and purlins.

Hoop C



Hoop C with New Tunnel over it.



New Home for Hoop C



Next up, install base board, hip boards, and end walls. Cover the endwalls with plastic or old storm windows and then prepare for plastic to be pulled over it.

Looks like a busy Christmas Break for us!

Building a tunnel over a tunnel

Update on disassembling new high tunnel

Today I got to spend 5 hours tearing down the new high tunnel at it's current home. I got alot done, but if I would have started earlier, I would have had hoops on the ground too!

Here is a little time lapse photo work!

Before


North wall gone


South wall gone


Baseboard and center and right purlin gone


All I have left is the left purlin and the 12 braces in the corners and we will be ready to take the hoops down. Finally, load it all up and head west!

Update on disassembling new high tunnel