Archive for May, 2011

Tomatoes in the Tunnel

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

I was able to set 96 tomato plants in the high tunnel this week.  I purchased some Tuscarora Farms organic plants through Maple Avenue Market and got them planted in four rows.   The plants were large enough to get them clipped to their support string.

I have been having a hard time judging how much water I should be dripping through the irrigation lines.  I have dialed back how long the water stays on and hopefully I will keep from flooding the new plants.  In the tunnel, the temps rise to about 85 during the day, with the doors open and sides rolled up foot or so.  I hope to keep the temps below 90 this year in an effort to provide a better growing climate.  Last year I let the tunnel get too hot and the watering was uneven and done by overhead sprinkler.

The varieties are Brandywine, Big Boy, Moscow heirloom, Green Zebra, Purple, cherry and grape.  I may add a few more to fill in the rows.

Trellis Up

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

I was able to do a trellis test section a couple weeks back. On the end and center brace posts I mounted a five foot oak 3×3 with 10 inch J bolts to extend the post between 9 and 10 feet.  I braced the end and center posts and installed a high tensile wire a 3 and 5 feet.  Eventually I will double back and put wires at 7 and 9 feet as well.

In between the brace posts I hand drove oak 5 foot  3×3′s at 30 foot intervals and attached a ten foot steel post using 4 inch bolts.  I used the center brace posts to start a new section of wire to the end posts, so each wire was a total of 150 feet long.  After putting a strainer on  each wire, the trellis was nice and tight with just a little bit of give to it, but not so much that it strained  the hand driven posts.  Here is a picture of my help, working hard to stay warm.