This week on the farm, along with or normal planting, harvesting, washing, packing, delivering, hoeing and customer service duties, we're building a new high tunnel! Thankfully we have help from Spencer's parents, Jim and Ann, who have helped us build ALL of our high tunnels (this is the fourth in as many years). Another shout-out goes to Michelle, Bobby, Sami and Keegan who helped us with the heavy frame lifting.
Our high tunnels are all 34' wide by 96' long, and they hold 9x30" wide beds. Once we add all the bells and whistles that make them function optimally, they're not cheap, but for three of our four tunnels we've been lucky enough to secure funding from the NRCS to cover about half the cost of each one.
As you can see in the photo, our newest tunnel, unceremoniously dubbed "high tunnel four", has the frame up, and we built it over crops that are currently growing. The next steps are to build end walls out of polycarbonate and steel, install a door, cover it in plastic (two layers of infrared treated 6mil poly film that are inflated with a small blower fan for extra insulation and longevity), and install the roll-up sides (which are automated; a thermostatically controlled motor raises and lowers the sidewalls based on the temperature). We expect it to be completely finished by mid-September, at which point we'll fill it up with winter crops! This tunnel will be entirely unheated for now (two of our tunnels have the ability to heat during the winter), and will mostly grow lettuce and spinach for fall, winter and spring harvest.
Though these tunnels aren't cheap and they take a lot of time and resources to build, we can't think of a better investment for our business in this climate. We'll share updates as we make progress!
Enjoy your produce this week. Shishito peppers debut this week!
