Movable Hight Tunnels

CURRENT AS OF 12/7/21

SUCCESS!!! FUNDED: $64,970 / $63,000

Project Summary

We were selected for a $4,000 farm grant through the San Juan Island Grange to purchase caterpillar tunnels. These intermediate tunnels will continue to play an important role on our farm.

Additional structures — especially ones that are larger and more functionally dynamic — will allow us to fulfill our greatest potential for food production during the winter and early spring.

Movable high tunnels are simplified greenhouses that roll lengthwise on tracks from one plot to another. After researching different four-season structures, interviewing other farmers, and weighing all of the advantages and drawbacks, we have concluded that movable high tunnels are the best match for our operation and climate.

The Challenges

The Bottleneck

So far, the duration of our growing seasons has been pretty typical for our climate — about 7 months (March through October). For an expanding farm with increasing labor costs, this has become a very narrow window within which we must earn all of our income to stay afloat.

A Waste of Potential

Without the infrastructure to protect crops through the colder, harsher months of winter and early spring, we miss some big opportunities to feed our community and access early cash flow.

Even if we had stationary greenhouses, our summer crops would need to be terminated prematurely in order to make room for plantings of tender greens and roots.

Climate Change

As extreme weather events become more common, our crops become increasingly vulnerable. Offsetting these risks would require infrastructure that enables us to have more control over our crop’s growing conditions.

Our Proposal

High Tunnels

We seek to assemble four, unheated 27’ x 95’ high tunnels. Their large air volume will mitigate extreme temperature swings and help and conserve moisture. These conditions will significantly enhance our crops’ productivity, quality, and growth.

Make Them Movable!

These high tunnels will be built with wheels on rails to allow for relocation between different plots. This amazing feature will unlock huge benefits for soil (and crop) health.

Tunnels can moved to expose soil to rain, preventing salt build-up and soil-borne diseases common among stationary structures.
Heat-loving crops can planted earlier and produce longer under a tunnel, while cool-loving can be planted outdoors in the adjascent plot. When the heat-loving crops are ready to be terminated, the tunnel can be moved over the cool-loving crops to protect them from harsh winter weather.
Stationary structures can make it very challenging to implement crop rotation, even for a very diversified farm. However, with movable high tunnels, we will have significantly more flexibility to rotate crops.

Overcoming the “Hungry Gap”

With high tunnels, we can finally extend our season from 7 to 10-12 months!!! Not only will this enable production during winter and early spring (aka the “Hungry Gap”), there will be a much wider variety of produce available.

Protection During Summer

These structures aren’t just for keeping crops warmer during the cold months, they can also be used to keep crops cooler during the hot months. Shade cloth can be draped over the high tunnels to mitigate damage from excessive heat and UV damage

Support from the SJICD

We have been approved for a funding through the NRCS High Tunnel Initiative, which will cover about $9,000 toward the purchase of one tunnel kit.

With the rapidly rising prices of materials (especially steel) and services required for site preparation, delaying this project will be quite costly.

We hope to place our order with Harnois by the end of May. The tunnels will be assembled by the end of summer 2022 (if not earlier).

Breakdown of Costs

Due to our farm’s exposure to high winds and occasional snowfall, we have selected Harnois tunnels for their durability and quality engineering. According to the proposal from Harnois, here is the cost breakdown (as of May 14th 2021):

$13,732.75 per tunnel kit (not including tax)
$4,429.00 for freight to San Juan Island (for a single tunnel)

If we purchase four high tunnel kits at once, we could have everything loaded into a single 40’ shipping container and delivered to San Juan Island for slightly more than it would cost to ship a single tunnel kit.