High Tunnel Grand Finale

The harvest is gearing up. I take great satisfaction in being able to harvest enough food to make a balanced meal. In reality, we grilled a steak to have with the sweet corn, zucchini, and potatoes and saved the rest for another day.

Saturday's harvest

The chicks have started perching on the windbreak in front of the door to the coop. The Americauna pullet, sitting by herself on the right, has plumage quite different from any other Americauna we have had. She looks like a miniature eagle.

Chicks perching on the windbreak

The lisianthus are blooming profusely.

Lisianthus

Sunday was The Big Day for the high tunnel. Pat, Nancy, and Jane, bless their hearts, got up early so they could get to our house at 7:30. Early morning is usually the calmest, and we absolutely could not get the cover on the high tunnel in any kind of wind. Also it was the coolest part of what soon became the hottest day so far this summer.

Terry had everything worked out. First, we spread the cover on the driveway, measured from each end, and marked the middle.

Measuring and marking the center

Next, we rolled one side to the middle…

Rolling one side

And then the other side.

Rolling the other side

The cover looked like this.

The rolled-up cover

We put tape around both ends and the middle.

Taping the roll

We carried the cover to the high tunnel. Terry put clamps along the east side of the frame to support the cover while we got everything ready to hoist it to the top.

The cover resting on clamps

Terry had put a rope over the center purlin and fashioned a large hook out of heavy wire. Jane took her position on the west side of the frame, holding the rope. Terry and Pat got one end of the hook attached to the rope and the other end around the rolled-up cover.

Jane holding the rope

Terry gave poles to Nancy and Pat. He climbed a ladder on the northeast corner; Pat climbed the ladder in the middle, and Nancy stood by the southeast corner. I took a position at the top of the scaffolding on the north side of the high tunnel.

Terry lifted the north end of the cover to the space between the door frame and the center arch. He put a rope around the north end and handed it to me. He then moved to the ladder in the middle of the south end. Pat took the tape off the middle of the roll.

Terry (on ladder at left) lifts the north end of the roll

Pat and Nancy pushed on the cover with their poles while Jane and I pulled on our ropes. Terry grabbed the south end of the cover. I held the north end. Jane and Pat managed to release the hook from the cover. Jane took the rope down.

Pat and Nancy push while Jane and I pull

When Terry and I had the cover centered, we took off the tape and let the side drop. In theory, gravity should have taken care of it, but we had to do some cajoling and shaking to get it to unfurl.

The rolled-up cover at the top

I held the north end with the center mark over the center purlin. This was my view of what was going on, although I hung on with both hands when I wasn’t taking a picture.

My view after the sides unfurled

On the other end, Terry was temporarily securing the south side.

Terry temporarily attaches the south side

He joined me on the scaffolding, and we put wiggle wire in the channel as far as we could reach. Terry leaned way over the scaffolding to get all the way to the door frame while Pat kept the tension.

Finishing the north side

I thought it would be a good idea to move the scaffolding to the south side to finish, but Terry just about burst an aneurism when I suggested it a few days before. THAT would be much too hard and time consuming. So we did the south end on ladders. The trouble was that the ladders were not tall enough for either one of us to see the top of the high tunnel. Terry stood on the top of the door frame (width = 4”) to get the wiggle wire into the highest part of the channel. I was glad Hilda wasn’t watching. It would have made her very nervous.  I didn’t feel so good myself.

When both ends were attached, we put wiggle wire down the west side…

Pat holds the cover taught while Terry installs the west wiggle wire 

And the east side…

Same deal on the east side

And then it was time to have pecan caramel rolls for breakfast.

Time to break for breakfast

After we were sufficiently cooled down, we went back out to put on the hook for the doors. First, we unrolled the doors.

Unrolling the door

Terry drilled holes and put hooks down the side and an eyebolt at the bottom.

Drilling holes for the hooks

He tied a rope to the top grommet

Tying a rope to the top grommet

And threaded it through the hooks and grommets until it could be tied off at the bottom. This corner is where we have the “rabbit hole” door, which is why some of the hooks are forward rather than on the side.

Lashed down big door by the "rabbit hole" door

The procedure was repeated in the other four corners, where all of the hooks are on the side of the door frame.

Example of the lashing of the other three doors

All that remains is the installation of “anti-billowing” ropes along the sides. We saved that small project for a cooler day. The hard part is done!

A storm came through that evening. Terry and I went out and shut the doors and sides. I was afraid that the plants we have in the high tunnel would bake, but it would be a small loss compared to having the high tunnel rip apart. We will learn over time what it can and cannot take.