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When planning a growing environment in a unique situation, it’s helpful to have versatile elements. For some time we have been cultivating the Mother Earth News Test Garden which is currently situated behind the offices we use to publish articles and videos. In 2023, it was completely planted and yielded a variety of heirloom and unique crop varieties. As we continue to expand the garden’s footprint, we partnered with Farmers Friend to build one of their gothic caterpillar tunnels next to the garden. This will let us get plants in the ground earlier in the spring and protect them from frosts in the fall. High tunnels are also a great structure that allow you to grow hardy greens and other crops all winter long.
First though, we erected the high tunnel as a stage at our Mother Earth News Fair in Belton, Texas, in order to showcase the size and ease of construction. Though nothing grew in the structure during the event besides the minds of the attendees, it certainly did help to keep the increasing colder February winds from affecting the folks in their seats. Taking down and transporting the high tunnel was very quick. This capability adds to the tunnel’s versatility as many operations need the option to alter their layout if necessary.
