Attention everyone: I want am going to start an new topic later this fall (don't know when). It is going to be very pic heavy. I am building a third high tunnel and I am going to document it very well. I twill be in the 18 by 45 range. I am going to lay out expenses, measurements, and add some new features to it. I am going to build it this fall, probably won't put the plastic on, but I will have it if I change my mind. This way the building will be up and when spring rolls around, I will pull the plastic over and we will start growing. The funny thing is I was scared to ask my wife if I could. I was expecting the "Hell No" answer and she said, I was kinda hoping you would? Hmmm, maybe 2 more, lets not push our luck! Bruce: Where at in Nebraska are you? Things that sell best are the old staples, red tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and green beans. Every location is different. Thanks for all the comments about my buildings, they have taken a beating this year. To be real honest, I am surprised they are still standing! 70 mph wind, enough to topple power poles, the discount store in town had a greenhouse to sell plants in. They are directly south of my house 3 miles, that greenhouse was destroyed by wind this spring. The metal frame was twisted and smashed. Mine were slightly damaged. Hail, rain, snow what ever it was they just bent with the wind, and popped right back! I wish I had the $$$ to build a big fancy metal frame one, by after this year, for $500, how could you go wrong with a building like this. I already have the posts purchased, we are getting the plastic next week. (Trip to Kansas City for my girls doctors appointment, saves alot on shipping!) If you are interested, stay tuned!

Our 48X32 ft hoop house is up and the tomatoes are flowering amid cold weather. Our experience with the USDA people in North Little Rock, AR was great. They were helpful, knew what they were doing and were more like neighbors than bureaucrats. If they are going to help pay for it, they don't want to pay for trash that is going to blow away. We have been able to extend our tomato harvest and we will be able to plant lettuce for market all winter. They said this was a test to see if the value of an extended season would be worth the expense of the hoop house. In addition, they noticed that we were starting to build a sheep herd and told us about a pasture rotation program that would cut down parasite damage to our animals. They paid for the materials for building electric fenced paddocks that were secure and would enable us to move the animals every week, breaking the parasite cycle. We paid for or did the labor.I know all the arguments against letting the government help, but I see the government spending money on stuff I disapprove of and in this case, I appreciate the knowledge and financial help the guys at USDA provided locally.

Each rib has 4 or 5 parts. I am going to split the bows in to two parts, take off the purlins and take them down (not in that order). I hope it will go fast. If I have a helper or two, it sure would help. I am guessing with two cordless drills, a cordless impact driver and several ladders, it will be down in no time. At my house I need to tear down one of my old tunnels, that I wasn't using this winter, pull all the posts, move some dirt around to make a more level pad (at least have it all sloping the same rate), and square up and add string lines to start driving ground posts. Jay

I am a little over halfway done rebuilding everything. I am getting good at patching together hoops from a pile of bent pipes. My cordless reciprocating saw is getting some good use. The high tunnel is 26 pieces of top rail; I bought 3 new ones. The rest will be the smashed pipes. It will be lumpy when I'm done, but it will still work. I had high hopes for the sleeve clamps, but they are junk. They rip apart immediately under stress. I have had much better luck by cutting up pieces of 1.5" EMT conduit elbows. They fit over the outside of the top rail. I think I could use the elbows to make an A-frame with top rail quite easily. A gothic arch would be trickier, but by cutting sections of the EMT elbow, I can make sleeve clamps that are angled. I'm surprised I hadn't read anything anywhere about connecting top rail with EMT elbows. It is easy and cheap. A 1.5" 90 degree elbow is about $4. Cut in half, it makes two nice 45 degree elbows. Tek screws hold it all together. If the same EMT pieces were sold as special greenhouse connectors, they would be 10x the price.