Moser's Garden Produce
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Moser's Garden Produce
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Click on icon above to go back to HOME page |
Let our fresh fruits & vegetables provide the nutrition you need for healthy living. | |
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Select other pages from selection at left navigation bar. |
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This is our first year photo using the roll-up side tunnel. There are a few changes in store for the future. There are no complaints about the system and yields were terrific to date but, as you can see, plants like indeterminate tomatoes and cucumbers need more support than standard 3' wire cages that I'm used to using in the field. Picking has been somewhat of a circus act.
You don't even see all crops in this photo. If you look from left to right you might see:
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Other unseen crops are eggplant & basil on the right side. By the way.. the tomatoes are pasted on this photo. |
I had to remove the cucumbers in early August because they were growing out the sides of the tunnel. By that time the field cucumbers were overwhelming and I was able to sow more basil for a late fall crop in place of the cucs.
Construction: We purchased the framework as a kit including all nuts, bolts and other hardware. The wood had to be purchased for side base (2X8), roll-up frame(2X4), end opening and base structures(4X4) and end framing(2X4). Needless to mention that when it comes to framing the ends you are on your own (everyone does it a little different).
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The frame of our high tunnel is a Gothic type. It is fairly easy to get to this step and from here there are various options. I went with the roll-up sides for many reasons, ease of picking being the most noted. |
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I also wanted to close in the ends with scraps of plywood & cheap doors which I had available. One could easily double costs with heaters, fans, louvers and plumbing. I run a hose to my drip header line. |
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| We also have had a small (15 X 40) greenhouse for 8 years (still with the same
plastic cover) and it works well for protecting our bedding plants. In it we
provide heat by coal stove, house fans for inner ventilation, a barn fan to draw
air out and an old bathroom ceiling fan has been inflating the space between the
two plastic layers continuously for those last 8 years.
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Not everyone wants to invest in a high tunnel and it isn't for everyone. There are many variations available to extend your season at either end. I like the Remay class of protective fabrics; most crops thrive well with no additional support (beyond what the plant provides). Low tunnels are used in many parts of the world with good success. Below are a few alternatives we have used over the years. They range from cost from moderate down to the price of a few transparent garbage bags (with a slit strategically placed near the top to let out excessive midday heat.
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| If someone only has a few trays of plants you can construct a simple portable unit in a few hours by hinging a lid frame onto a base and then spanning the lid frame with fiberglass rods. | The covering can be any large section of plastic stapled onto the lid frame. If nights get cold we used an old electric blanket. this unit held 15 flats well. I included this at the bottom of this page as our "Lo tunnel". |
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Remay type floating row cover |
| Tomatoes protected by slipping a garbage bag over the tomato cage, slitting at top and weighting to ground with a little soil. | Floating row covers need to be well anchored to prevent wind damage. It should also be removed to allow pollination and for harvesting |
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