A High tunnel is made to extend our growing season….But developing good timing is half the battle! We have had our usual (and unusual) warming/freezing spells now for a few weeks. Spring seems to become more unpredictable every year here in the arctic. I find myself chewing my nails to the nub every year deciding when is the best time to put the plastic on. Too early and I risk losing the whole tunnel all together, too late and I don’t gain any real advantage during the growing season in grow time. Though our high tunnel is semi-protected by a small hill from the north winds (the most violent winds) it still takes a beating from our spring time winds which are unpredictable and gusty to say the least. We had a few days of a full on blizzard last week! I wrote in my notes that this year I should try and get the plastic up sooner than I did last year. Which gave us a good two weeks ahead of our normal outdoor growing season. But the weather has not cooperated at all. We haven’t had a calm day without windy gusts for a while, despite the happy sunshine. And random blizzard/rain.
The most I can do though is write in my notes my thought process, and hopefully in the future we can develop a better way to predict when it is best to put plastic up. I keep my eyes to the ground also, watching the native plants and keeping an eye on what they are doing. They know how to grow here the best!
Gardens in the Arctic 
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