High Tunnel is Up! Many Thanks to our Helpers!

We finished putting on the plastic this morning.

The high tunnel is just about finished, and we wanted to say a huge "thank you" to all of you who helped us make this happen! Special thanks to our WWOOF volunteer, Madeline, who put in several 10-hour+ days on this project and our neighbor, Dan, who gave us free reign of his tool shed all week and to Mike from People and Planet who kept us fueled up with a big box of bananas and apples. Also much thanks to Bart, Pieter, Nineveh, Ariella, Jynelle, Kyrod, Tim, Craig, Lynn, and Nina who all gave up part of their weekend and plenty of sweat to get it done.

Hanging the first door.

Lots of drilling into steel on ladders- hard work!

Shoveling gravel under the baseboards - also a good workout!

Putting up purlins.

Ladders moving everywhere.

More drilling on ladders.

Victorious!

It's a Barn Raising!

Saturday and Sunday March 23rd and 24th, from 10am-5pm

This is the first arch. We have 11 more to go!

Gal has been busy with the sledgehammer.

It’s actually a high-tunnel raising, but same concept. A barn raising is when members of a community come together to help assemble and raise the frame of a barn — or in our case, a high-tunnel — which is too big a job for the farmers to do alone. A high-tunnel is a type of greenhouse, basically a big metal frame covered with plastic, which we will plant under. We were awarded a grant from NRCS to purchase this high-tunnel, and we need to finish assembling it in time for our April planting. So the race is on!

The posts that form the foundation are already in place, and it’s time to put up those big metal hoops. This is a big job, and we are humbly requesting the help of our community of friends, neighbors, and CSA members. You do not have to be an experienced construction worker or super-strong to help out. Jobs will include piecing together the metal hoops, helping to hoist them into place, and bolting together the supporting pieces. If you have a drill, please bring it. Also, we are greatly in need of a tall, free-standing (A-frame) ladder, 10 feet or taller. The barn raising is both Saturday and Sunday. We hugely appreciate any help you can provide, whether for an hour or a day. We hope this will be a fun community-building time with a sense of accomplishment at the end. We will provide cold drinks and light refreshments.

All are welcome. Many hands make light work.

900 W. Edmundson Ave., Morgan Hill

Thank You,
Michelle and Gal

The finished product should look something like this.

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Save some for later! That's the only answer to the bushels of lemons that are falling all over our driveway. We seem to have an ideal climate for growing lemons. When lemon season hits here, there are more lemons than anyone could possibly use.

I've been working on freezing the juice for the times of year when there are none. It's a pretty straightforward process. I just squeezed the lemon juice through a strainer into a big bowl. Then when the bowl seemed full enough, I began pouring it through a funnel into ice cube trays. After it's frozen, I will pop out the lemon cubes and put them in bags for easier storage. Hopefully, we'll be able to break off a cube of lemon juice whenever we need some.

The lemon juice factory

Our wonderful tree. Actually our neighbor's tree coming over onto our side, but they don't mind.