Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The high tunnel greenhouse is finished!

The next step in constructing the tunnel greenhouse was to bolt the purlins in place, two parallel rows of pipe that will strengthen the structure and provide a place to tie up tomatoes and cucumbers.
The excess pipe is cut off and the cut end is covered with duct tape to protect the plastic from sharp edges.
Next came the scary part - putting on the plastic shorthanded with a 30 km wind blowing...but it went on remarkably easy. The ends are gathered like a bread bag and jammed between two t-posts.




We started lacing with strong army cord from one side to the other over the top, wrapping the cord around the bolts at the bottom of the bows. So the plastic is sandwiched between the bows and the cord.
This way the plastic sides can be pushed up and held in place by the tension of the cord, for access and ventilation.

This is my "TA-DA" moment.
What a pleasant place to work!
You can see why they call this style a caterpillar tunnel.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! It looks terrific! Did you get your hoop benders from Johnny's? I think I will try this method for my next hoophouse, which will be a bit larger. Love the caterpillar lacing, that is brilliant!

Lovethiscottage.blogspot.com said...

Yes, the plastic, bender , post pounder end protector thingie, and clamps. All the nuts and bolts were so cheap @ $2.00 a pound at Mardens. The metal pipes from EBS hardware in Calais. The manual and parts list is on Johnny's website.

Rose said...

Wow, what a project! I'm so impressed with all the hard work that went into this; your wwoofers must have been a great help. You're really going to enjoy being able to get an early start on the growing season with this huge greenhouse.

Just skimmed through some of your earlier posts, which I'm sorry I missed--congratulations on your new granddaughter! She's adorable!

Lovethiscottage.blogspot.com said...

Hi Rose, Yes the wwoofers have been such a wonderful help. I am so enjoying planting in the tunnel greenhouse while the weather outside is frightful, with wind and sleet.
Yes , little Natalia is so gorgeous, I am indeed blessed, 4 healthy lovely grandbabies.