Finally got in the garden and got some more things planted yesterday. I just lightly tilled the top few inches and it was dry enough to work good. Planted potatoes and some more sweet corn. I have some corn, onions, and green peas already up from a planting about a month ago. High tunnel has cabbage, broccoli, squash, tomatoes and green beans. The green beans have struggled to come up because when I till the ground in there it gets so loose, that when the overhead sprinkler system is turned on, it will pack the soil so hard that it crusts over and makes the soil almost like concrete in places. I also use a drip line irrigation system, I've found out that the high tunnel does best if all the soil gets water, not just the rows the crops are in, so the overhead system is a must. Strawberries and blackberries look good too.

That's quite the garden James!

Looking good!

That does not look like a garden to me, that is a field under roof.

30X96, and on a hot day if you're working in there, it can feel that it's a big as a field by the time you get finished.

I’m very envious of your size, James. Lol

I’m only about 100 miles North of you and the nights are still way too cold here to do much.

I like that tunnel.

Is the covered with visqueen or a material made for that?
How many years/seasons will it last? Take it down when not growing?

This particular one was put up for me by some local Mennonites who do that for a living. It's designed to last 4-5 years as far as the plastic goes, and the roof on this one lasted just that, thanks to a bad windstorm we had last October. I had the roof replaced back in January. The plastic is about 6 mil in thickness, and is made for greenhouses, and high tunnels. The biggest problems with these tunnels is salt buildup in the soil, and diseases. On the average, they need to be moved after 4 years, or else the roof removed for the winter months, and hope it rains enough to wash the salt away. The use of drip line irrigation, which only puts a small amount of water in the soil, is what causes the salt to buildup. I've gone to an overhead irrigation system, hoping to put more water down that in turn will leach the salt out.

Some growers will steam the soil after a few years, to kill diseases, but that is when they are mostly growing continuous crops, such as tomatoes. I try to switch my crops around as much as I can, but do grow more green beans than I should.

Yes, they are designed to be kept up for years, although they can be taken down and moved to a new location. I may have to do that if I want to keep using it long term.

I miss the time when I had a house and a small garden next to it. Now I live in a apartment in the city and it's not the same feeling. More and more I think of finally to retire and maybe to buy land in Koh Samui here for example and just move there with my wife, it's cheap and warm. My dream for the past 2-3 years.

Cool deal James.

Saw your comment about the ground getting hard? Have you tired adding a lot of organic matter to it. I use straw and pine shavings (in the nest boxes) for my chicken coop and their yard and it helps with the adobe soil we have around here.

Hope your garden continues to work out for you.

Geno