THE U-Pick GARDEN will be closing August 20th. This will be the last year the garden will be open to the public. Next year I'll be operating as a CSA, supplying about 20 regular customers with weekly boxes. Thank you for your support over the last 8 years, but it's time to try something new.

To get a copy of my book, "How To Grow Vegetables In Sitka, Alaska" just give me a call....The books are $20 plus tax. If you live out of town and want me to mail you a copy, you can mail a check for $25.60 to:

Lori Adams
P O Box 6021
Sitka, Alaska
99835


Down To Earth U-Pick Garden is located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road in Sitka, Alaska. It is open usually from mid-June through late August. Hours are Monday-Saturday 12:00 to 6:30. On Farmer's Market Saturdays I am not open until 2:00. Children are welcome but may not run through the garden or chase the ducks. If you have any questions you can contact me, Lori Adams, at 907-747-6108 or 907-738-2241. My email address is downtoearthupick@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Pea Tunnel Version 2.0

I used to grow peas using a fence for support, but the plants would always get too tall and fall over. I tried to extend support upward using lathe and string, but it was such a pain!


So, a couple of years ago I came up with the Pea Tunnel Version 1.0.....


It was built out of sections of Concrete Reinforcement Wire fastened to fence posts.


And it works GREAT!!!


I absolutely love the pea tunnel, but there was one thing I didn't like about it..... I have to move the tunnel every year, one section at a time for crop rotation purposes, and that means that I have to dig out last year's fence posts and drive them into the ground in next year's position. This job is not for the faint of heart and it usually requires more than one person to accomplish it.



Without fence posts the tunnel would not be sturdy enough to stand on it's own, so with Mr. Adams and my father-in-law's help this Spring, we bent rebar into arches which I attached to the end of each section with zip ties. One section has 2 rebar arches on it. Now, all of the arches can stand on their own and can be moved separately, one at a time, and are attached to each other with zipties.




What an improvement!! No more fence posts!! The whole project went so well that I got inspired and cut a bunch of low tunnels out of the remaining Concrete Reinforcement Wire for the other vegetable beds. I LOVE how gently it supports the row cover!


No drooping or straining over pressure points.....no low points or high points to cause harsh dripping. And the rusty metal acts like velcro keeping the cloth in place, even where there are weak spots....


I LOVE Concrete Reinforcement Wire!

 The Pea Tunnel Version 2.0 is great, but I'm already planning improvements for Version 3.0.....The sections are still hard for me to move by myself....the rebar arch makes the sections heavy on one end which makes things pretty awkward. What would it be like if the rebar was attached to the exact center of each wire section? Then the weight would be balanced and the section would be easier to move.....hmmmmmmm
One of these years I'll get it right!


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