simy1,
thanks for sharing your experience.
What would you think of a ridged frame for the tunnel? I'm thinking more
pvc across the bottom with Ts and rt. angle connectors to tie the bottom
of the tunnel together.

I don't have the mechanical problem of snow. I'm on the hilly edge of a
redwood (temperate rain) forest. When the wind howls on the flats around
here, we have a nice breeze. It can get windy but not extremely. Our
problem is that these humongs trees don't have tap roots and when they
come down (not if), they can slice a house in half like a birthday cake.
Fortunately, I am surrounded mostly by oak and bay. We get about 40" of
rain between Nov. and April. The temp may drop to 28F on occasion. I saw
frost four time last year, which is typical. Lastly, the Sun doesn't get
above the tree line from mid Dec. to mid Jan. During the summer, the
sweet part of my garden gets about 6hr/day of sun (the rest of the
garden gets less as it goes down the hill) and the temps are typically
in the high 80s.

Anyway, my thought is with a stiff frame, about 20' long, I could undo
the ends of the frame and one side and open it like a chest. Do my
gardening and then just re-dress the three edges. I'm presuming that
larger chunks of concrete or cinder blocks can compensate for the
inherent aerodynamics of the tunnel. I'd love to hear any thoughts.

I do get some detritus falling off the oaks and bays. The largest are
small limbs (1' - 1 1/2' x 1/2") that are totally rotten out (fairly
light). Can you quantify or qualify the strength of the vinyl?

Is there any problem with humidity in the tunnels? Do you ever have mold
or mildew problems?

Gratefully,
- Bill

William L. Rose wrote:
simy1,
thanks for sharing your experience.
What would you think of a ridged frame for the tunnel? I'm thinking more
pvc across the bottom with Ts and rt. angle connectors to tie the bottom
of the tunnel together.

It could work.


I don't have the mechanical problem of snow. I'm on the hilly edge of a
redwood (temperate rain) forest. When the wind howls on the flats around
here, we have a nice breeze. It can get windy but not extremely. Our
problem is that these humongs trees don't have tap roots and when they
come down (not if), they can slice a house in half like a birthday cake.
Fortunately, I am surrounded mostly by oak and bay. We get about 40" of
rain between Nov. and April. The temp may drop to 28F on occasion. I saw

If it goes down to 28, what do you need the tunnels for? There are two
dozens vegetables that take 10F when established. I don't think you
need tunnels.


Anyway, my thought is with a stiff frame, about 20' long, I could undo
the ends of the frame and one side and open it like a chest. Do my
gardening and then just re-dress the three edges. I'm presuming that
larger chunks of concrete or cinder blocks can compensate for the
inherent aerodynamics of the tunnel. I'd love to hear any thoughts.

I think it could work.


I do get some detritus falling off the oaks and bays. The largest are
small limbs (1' - 1 1/2' x 1/2") that are totally rotten out (fairly
light). Can you quantify or qualify the strength of the vinyl?

It is much stronger than it looks. I have had trees dump hundreds of
pounds on the tunnels without tearing the poly. It is polyethylene, not
vinyl.


Is there any problem with humidity in the tunnels? Do you ever have mold
or mildew problems?

Mildew when the night temps are 15F? No. Besides, all brassicas love
100% humidity, with the condensation dripping on them all day. and the
other greens (and carrots and beets) at least tolerate 100% humidity.

simy1,
two dozen? It's absolutely amazing how long some people stay alive.

There are two problems that I am trying to address:
Numero Uno, in the past any greens left in the garden have been hammered
into pulp by the rains.

Numero Two-o is that I've have had a couple of peppers over-winter. They
also get hammered by the rain but the stalk still has some green to it
and it re-generates when the weather warms up. The last few winters have
been mild and the severe lack direct sunlight in Dec.-Jan. seems to take
it's toll. I'd like to give them more of an edge than that.

Numero three-o (there are at least three problems that I would like to
address) is that the slugs and snails here are like pirana fish. You may
as well drop a cow in with the velocorapters. Bye-bye!

Again, if you think of some question I should have asked, please pass it
on.

Again, thanks for your time and your hard earned knowledge,
- Bill