The Dream

We were invited to have supper at Cycle Farm in Spearfish last night by Trish and Jeremy and we also had the chance to meet another CSA farmer, Harold Gray from Nisland.  We had a wonderful home-cooked supper prepared by Trish and Jeremy which centered around one of their farm-raised lovingly herbed and roasted chickens.  I contributed a couple sides consisting of tomatillo salsa verde and chips and a new recipe for sweet potato/ginger/miso dip and celery.  The food was absolutely wonderful, but the conversation was what dreams are made of......well, at least my dreams.

When you make the decision to change careers mid-stream (okay fine, mid-life) and go into full-time agriculture, you are basically also making the decision to drop most of your social life.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just the way it is.  And as we gradually add more parts of our "grand plan" to the picture, spare time becomes more of a rarity.  So having the opportunity to spend an evening discussing exactly what we are doing with three other people who completely "get it" is really an honor and a blessing.  We came away from the evening feeling validated, renewed, challenged, and.........special.  I think what we're doing at Bear Butte Gardens, Cycle Farm, and Harold's farm is really pretty special when you consider we're growing top quality, healthy food for approximately 50-60 area families during the summer plus the extra people we meet through farmers markets, etc., and that number will keep increasing as we gain more knowledge and experience.  All of our farms are relatively new, so just three years ago none of this was happening.  That's pretty amazing.

So, getting back to my dreams--a few nights ago I had a dream that I was the happiest I have ever been in my life.  In the dream I kept telling Rick over and over and over how happy I was.  The next day, about midway through, I remembered the dream and it made me smile because it wasn't just a dream, I truly am right now the happiest I have ever been in my life.  Everything is just very, very good with family AND I'm working my dream job with my favorite co-worker, my husband!

Rick and I have been a part of many, many projects over the years and in retrospect it seems that all of those projects, good or not so good, have somehow prepared us for what we are doing right now and what we hope to do over the next several years.  The point I'd like to make here is that maybe you're in a job or a relationship or a situation right now that isn't ideal, but set your goals and move ahead and in time you'll be able to look back and see what you learned from this situation.  It WILL make you a more intelligent, more understanding, more experienced person for what lies ahead.

So, next summer when we're again in the middle of a drought and the temperatures are staying around 90-100 every day for a month or more and I'm picking the umpteenth bag of beans and looking forward to dealing with some quirky CSA share member, I'll have to stop and re-read this blog to remind myself how blessed I am.  

So, Trish and Jeremy, thank you so much for having the wisdom to plan this mid-week meeting of like dreamers.  It was a counseling session, self-help group meeting, and motivational session all in one!  Rick and I are very lucky to have such a strong support group around us, cheering us on, of not only the other CSA providers, but also our kids, our families, our friends from all of those past projects, and our community.  Yay for all of you dream enablers!  It is important for all of us now living our dreams to figure out a way to share how we are doing it with those others who might be just starting to form their own dreams.  Good stuff!

Educate Yourself About Food!

Warm, beautiful, unseasonably mild November!  I love it and fear it at the same time.  When your livelihood, income, and root cellar depend on successful gardening, you kind of look forward to the inclement wet, slushy, snowy sort of days.  Plus I have some cross-country skis calling my name!

One thing that is constant this November, though, is the shortening of the day length.  Now the sun is coming up 7-ish and going down 5-ish, so all outdoor activities necessitating light need to be done within those hours.  Having had a very warm (HOT!), dry, sunny summer, I'm actually enjoying the shorter days because I have an excuse to do some of the indoor things I really enjoy:  painting rooms, sewing, reading, watching foodie documentaries, and perusing seed catalogs.

I recently ordered four new foodie documentaries and I'd like to share a little info about each of them with you.

• The Garden - this documentary is less about food and more about the capacity to grow food.  It covers the ups and downs of an inner city 14-acre community garden in the middle of Los Angeles which was created in the wake of the 1992 LA riots.  The parcel of land becomes the object of development plans and politics within the city.  The Garden is an interesting study into neighborhood relations and cultural identities through the simple act of planting seeds and growing food.  

• Ingredients - loved this documentary!  It focuses on Alice Waters and the local food movement where restaurants actually embrace local food and the challenges of sourcing their menu locally and seasonally and searching for the best local ingredients instead of just ordering whatever Food Services of America will deliver to the doorstep.  This is the future of fine eating based on methods of the past.  Start asking your local restaurants where they are getting their food and let them know you'd like it a lot if they'd try to find things local and in season.

• Forks Over Knives - explores the belief that today's degenerative diseases can be controlled, if not totally reversed, by deleting animal-based and processed foods from our diets.  They present some very compelling facts and arguments for a vegetarian or vegan-type lifestyle.  

• Fresh - if you've researched alternative farming and big corporation agriculture at all, you've undoubtedly heard of Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan.  They are two of the people this documentary focuses on in an effort to reveal what has happened to our food chain since supermarkets and fast food franchises took over.  When Fresh first came out it was an underground documentary that kicked off a grassroots movement to educate Americans about where our food is actually coming from and to reveal that there are healthier alternatives.  

I get a lot of pleasure out of watching documentaries like these and reading the corresponding books and studies that are now all over the place.  In the wake of the Hostess company going belly up and the media push that "Twinkies are no more!" I just can't cheer loudly enough!  Yay!  Hip, hip, hooray!  So long Hostess!  I choose to believe that instead of it being a labor union issue or a corporate greed issue, maybe enough Americans are becoming smart enough to quit buying these processed sugar-laden products and they will truly go under because we have become better eaters.  Let's keep hoping!

Michelle

www.BearButteGardens.com

e-mail:  Michelle@BearButteGardens.com

605-490-2919

Kayla's Blog Entry

This spring we had the good fortune to have a young lady work at Bear Butte Gardens and help us out during the transplanting phase from May to the beginning of July. Kayla is the daughter of one of my husband's co-workers and she had also worked with me at a local after school program. She grew up in Colorado, but has been attending Black Hills State University in Spearfish for the past three years and is currently in her senior year. On days when I just really didn't want to lay another hundred feet of drip irrigation, Kayla would show up and get me going. Here is Kayla's blog entry on her experience at Bear Butte Gardens:  

When I stop to think about what I really want for Christmas, or my next birthday, or for graduation, mostly I come up with things like “a bread maker” or “tupperware.” (Did you know that there are online catalogues dedicated exclusively to tupperware? There are. It’s crazy.) I owe this new obsession to Rick and Michelle at Bear Butte Gardens--thanks to them, I have a new appreciation for fresh, local foods and home cooking that’s changing the way I view the food industry, and ultimately the way I choose to live.
I was fortunate enough this summer to get to spend time at the gardens and watch them (literally) grow their business into something really and truly amazing. Bear Butte Gardens is the kind of local business that every town needs to have, because they have everyone’s best interests at heart--using the land and resources in a way that works with the natural environment to bring high quality produce to the community.

When it comes to investments, there are few better ones you can make than investing in your health. Not only is local, organic produce better for you, the difference in the taste and quality is staggering--if you’ve never tried “real food,” this is the place to start.

I’m awed and inspired by Michelle and Rick’s resolve and teamwork in tackling such a huge undertaking. To me, being able to put something in the ground and have it sprout into something edible would be a miracle in itself. Nevermind the amount of paperwork that goes into a USDA organic certification, or the man hours needed to build a 72ft greenhouse, or the time and effort it takes to harvest and deliver enough produce to fill 25 CSA shares on a weekly basis. The rows and rows of plants are so big and beautiful you’d swear it’d be impossible to grow them with just sunshine and rain. (Magic. There has to be magic behind it all somewhere.)

I truly admire their dedication, and their dream, and I’m so proud to have been if only a small part of the process. In a society that has become so far removed from knowing how their food is grown and produced, I’m thankful to have gained some insight into what real agriculture should look like. I look forward to Bear Butte Gardens’ future--I can’t wait to see what it will be like in another one, two, five or more years--and I hope it brings all the best to the two people who had the courage and commitment to make it happen. Thank you, Rick and Michelle, for a wonderful summer.

And for the zucchini. Especially the zucchini.

Kayla Casteel

How We Built Our High Tunnel Greenhouse

My wife and I (with help from a lot of friends) just built a high tunnel greenhouse at Bear Butte Gardens.  And, I’ve got to say, it’s a lot bigger job than I expected.  But we learned a lot, and it should be pretty amazing once it goes into production!  In this article, I thought I would share some of what we learned about this project.

So, what is a “high tunnel”?  According to the internet:

A high tunnel is a tall commercial or industrial-sized greenhouse. These are used in commercial agriculture applications to maintain a more reliable and uniform temperature and humidity and to protect plants from variables such as wind.

Depending upon who you ask, the definition of a high tunnel usually includes the characteristics of a hoop-style structure, covered with clear plastic, in which the long sides can be opened (rolled-up) to allow additional air ventilation.

Our High Tunnel Greenhouse, nearly finished

We purchased our high-tunnel as a kit from a company called FarmTek (www.FarmTek.com).  The model we have is the “Premium Round Style High Tunnel”.  Ours is 30 feet wide, 72 feet long, and 12 feet tall.  The price listed on their website for this kit is about $6,000.  The good folks at our local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Sturgis helped us with partial funding for the kit via the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grant.  If you are interested in this program, then you should visit the NRCS office and/or visit the NRCS website (www.nrcs.usda.gov).

In addition to the basic kit, we purchased optional rafter support kits and a shade cover from FarmTek.

If you are familiar with where Bear Butte Gardens is located, then you know that we get harsh weather -- mainly the wind.  We are located on the top of a rolling hill on the prairie near Bear Butte.  In the past, we’ve had wind micro-bursts that have blown our garage door in (collapsed it), blown the front door off our house, blown siding off our house, broken window frames, blown shingles off our roof, as well as several other mishaps.  So, when I say windy, I mean it.  Due to these extreme conditions, we have chosen to enhance (strengthen) our kit even a bit more.  I’ll try to identify these enhancements as we go along.

The basic kit consists of galvanized steel hoops (rafters) that make the frame of the structure.  The rafters are located four feet apart.  Our kit has 18 rafters (4 x 18 = 72 feet).  Each rafter is composed of five sections of curved conduit pipe, secured with “Tek” screws.  The rafters are mounted to ground posts.  The ground posts are straight pieces of galvanized steel conduit pipe that are three feet long.  The ground posts are driven vertically into the ground or secured in concrete.  The rafters are connected together by straight pieces of galvanized steel conduit pipe (purlins).  The straight conduit pipe comes in lengths of about six feet, with one swagged (male) end and one non-swagged (female) end.  Twelve sections of straight conduit pipe are connected together (with Tek screws) to form one entire purlin that is 72 feet long.  The purlins are connected to the underside of rafters on the top of the structure.  Our kit has five purlins that run the entire length of the structure.  The intersections of rafters and purlins are secured with special clamps, bolts, and screws.  One large piece of clear plastic is stretched over the structure and secured with a series of “u” channels and “wiggle wires”.  The two end walls each get their own piece of plastic covering.  The plastic on the long sides of the structure can roll up to a height of about four feet to allow additional ventilation.

The kit, unpacked

This was the first high tunnel kit that we have ever constructed, so the learning curve was interesting to say the least.  The instructions that come with the kit (or maybe my ability to comprehend the instructions) leave a lot of room for improvement.  Anyhow, I’ll try to give you an idea of how we did it, and also share some of our discoveries, tips, and tricks -- just in case you want to build one of your own!

Step 1 - Planning
What are your objectives?  Do you want to extend the growing season?  Are you growing for family & friends or for commercial purposes?  Do your homework.  Search the internet.  Watch YouTube videos about high tunnels.  Visit someone who has a high tunnel.  Ask questions.  Contact the NRCS.  If you are seeking financial assistance from the NRCS, then get familiar with their requirements.  Select a building site.  Think through how you will actually grow and harvest the plants -- things like sunlight exposure, pollination, watering and drainage, temperature control, soil nutrition, planting schedule, harvesting schedule, pest control, disease control, etc.  What size/shape structure is right for you?  How about access to/from the structure?  Compare various manufacturers’ products.  Plan for transportation (our 2,000 pound kit was shipped by truck to Box Elder and we hauled it from there to Sturgis).  Know the warranty info.  Plan for additional/optional building materials.  Plan for the actual labor and time of constructing the kit.

Cedar posts and composite lumber

Step 2 - Prepare The Building Site
We have a friend with a skid-steer loader who leveled our building site.  Before he did his work, I removed the topsoil with my tractor.  We used a transit to get the site flat and level.  I think we did a fairly good job with this step, but next time, I will work at getting the site even more precisely flat and level.  We then placed the stakes, put up string lines, did our measuring, ensured the squareness, etc.  It is very important to get things straight, level, and square.  We marked where each and every ground post would be installed.  Our kit has 18 ground posts on each side for a total of 36.  The tasks of pacing the stakes and string lines took several hours.  Someone with more experience would probably be able to do it faster.

Dirt work

Michelle, using the transit to help get the ground flat and level

Step 3 - Install the Ground Posts
I happen to have a tractor with a post-hole digger, so we used that to drill holes in the ground, one for each ground post.  We mixed one bag of redi-mix concrete per hole and then placed the ground posts vertically in the concrete.  In the previous step we installed string lines so that we could get the ground posts set in a straight line, and all to the same exact height.  If you have access to a transit, then use it for even more exact height measurement.  This was two summer evenings (after my day job) till dark plus drying time for the concrete.

The tractor and post-hole digger made the job easier

A corner ground post, with string line

Step 4 - Install Rafters and At Least One Purlin
This is a job that requires several people.  First assemble the rafters on the ground.  Then raise the first rafter and attach it to the first pair of ground posts with bolts.  Use ropes to pull the rafter into vertical position, and then temporarily stake down the ropes to hold the rafter in place.  Then raise the second rafter and attach a purlin between the two rafters.  Simply repeat this process for all remaining rafters, working your way from one end to the other end of the structure.  We are lucky enough to have another friend who let us use his scaffolding, which made the job much easier, safer, and quicker.  I also made a jig to measure the distance between the rafters (exactly four feet).  This jig was made from a scrap piece of 2x4 with two notches cut in, four feet apart.  This was one fairly long day with several people helping.

Assembling the rafters on the ground

Putting up the 1st three rafters and one purlin



Using the 2x4 Jig to consistantly measure distance between rafters



Step 5 - Install Additional Purlins
After we had all 18 of the rafters in place, we installed the additional four purlins.  This takes a considerable amount of time because each intersection of a rafter and purlin has a clamp with two bolts.  After the clamp is installed then a couple of Tek screws need to be installed into the conduit piping.  This is a considerable job when working on a ladder or scaffolding.  18 rafters x five purlins = 90 intersections.  This consumed several summer evenings.

Installing additional purlins

Step 6 - Install Footer Boards
We chose to install the optional footer boards.  We used composite (plastic) boards (we are USDA organic certified so we can not use treated wood) about 1¼” thick, about 5” wide, and 12’ long.  The footer boards are bolted to the ground posts along each of the long sides of the structure.  This was done to add strength and also to get a better seal along the bottom edge of the roll-open sides when rolled down.  This took a few hours.

Step 7 - Install Ribbon Boards
We chose to install the optional ribbon boards.  Since these boards will not be in the dirt, we used rough-cut, non-treated 1”x4”s 12’ long.  The ribbon boards are bolted to the rafters about four feet above the footer boards on each of the long sides of the structure.  This was done to add strength to the top edge of the roll-open sides when rolled up.  This took about three summer evenings.

Step 8 - Install Rafter Supports
We purchased and installed optional rafter supports.  A “rafter support” is basically a rafter “truss”.  Our high tunnel has 18 rafters, but we only purchased 8 rafter supports and installed them on every-other rafter.  At some point in the future we may choose to purchase and install additional rafter supports on all of the rafters.  The rafter supports get attached to the rafters with clamps, bolts, and Tek screws.  This took about two or three evenings.

Installing rafter supports

Step 9 - Install “U-Channels”
The kit includes aluminum “u-channels” that are 8’ long.  The u-channels are used in conjunction with “wiggle wires” to attach the large clear plastic covering to the framing.  U-channels get installed to the ribbon boards and along the two end rafters.  The u-channels form a continuous perimeter for attaching the clear plastic covering.  This took a couple summer evenings.

Step 10 - Make End Walls Vertically Plumb
Attach a string line between the two ground posts that support the very first rafter.  Then hang another string line down (with a weight) from the tip-top of that same rafter.  What we want is for the two string lines to intersect and touch.  If they do, then that rafter is vertically plumb.  If not, then the top of the entire structure will need to be pulled into the correct position.  Remember the ropes that we used to temporarily stake down the first rafter?  These ropes can be used to pull on the top of the structure.  We found that the structure is still flexible at this point.  Repeat this process on the very last rafter.  If it is also vertically plumb then great!  If not, then you may consider some adjustments.  Hmmm...  

We secured each piece of conduit piping together with Tek screws as we progressed with the construction.  With hindsight being 20-20, we should have waited until now to install the majority of the Tek screws.  This would have made the “squaring-up” process a little easier.

Once the end walls are vertically plumb, then stake the ropes down again to hold it there.  

Step 11 - Construct End Walls
The kit included end walls.  Well kinda.  The kit included two big pieces of vinyl that are hung from the rafter hoops on each end of the structure.  Each piece of vinyl has three zippers.  Once mounted, the zippers can be used to open the “door”.  That’s it.  No additional structural framing.  That design might work for a lot of folks, but not for the winds we get.  We deviated from the design of the kit and built end walls that are considerably stronger.  

For the south end wall, we used six 6”x6” cedar posts (we are USDA organic certified so we can not use treated posts).  Two posts were 16’ long, two were 14’, and two were 8’.  This accommodated the “arched” shape.  The posts were set in concrete, about four feet deep.  We then installed 2”x4” purlins between the posts in the usual “post frame” wall structure.  The vinyl covering was then installed and attached to the purlins.  

Preparing to set posts for south end wall

Mixing concrete

South end wall framing

Notice the ribbon board

Outside of south end wall

For the north end wall, we built a similar structure with cedar posts and 2x4 purlins, but this wall has a 36” steel walk-thru door, and a 7’x8’ roll-up style steel garage door.  For the wall covering, we did not use the vinyl included with the kit.  We used corrugated, single-wall polycarbonate.  

Framing-in the garage door

North end wall

Installing polycarbonate siding onto north end wall

We used vinyl to cover the gap between the polycarbonate and the rafter

North end wall with garage door and walk-thru door installed

All throughout this project we tried to strike a balance between getting things perfectly square, straight, and level; with getting things good enough.  When it came time to mount the two doors we discovered that having things perfectly in place is better.

I would say we have at least another 50 hours into constructing the end walls.

Step 12 - Prepare to Install Clear Plastic Covering
This step includes smoothing-down any sharp edges that might come into contact with the plastic covering -- either during installation of the covering, or after the covering is in place.  Considering the certainty that wind would blow against the structure and relentlessly rub the plastic against anything making contact, we decided to be very thorough with this step.  We either filed-down, sanded-down, or covered-up with duct tape, each and every sharp edge and bolt that stuck out.  We did some of this as we installed the purlins to the rafters, but then had to redo some of the duct tape that became loose.  Altogether, we have several hours into this step.

Step 13 - Install Clear Plastic Covering
This was the big step everyone was looking forward to!  We picked a Saturday with a good weather forecast and recruited four other people (total of six) to help.  The plastic was unrolled onto the ground along one of the long sides of the structure.  Several ropes were attached to the plastic and then used to gently drag the plastic up and over the frame structure.  The plastic is first attached to the structure with “wiggle wires” in the u-channel that is mounted to each end rafter.  Then, along each long side of the structure, the clear plastic is attached to the u-channel which is mounted to the ribbon board (about four feet above the ground).  A section of clear plastic is left dangling on each side in the area between the ribbon board and the footer board.  This will become the “roll-up” side.  Looking back at it, I think two to four additional people would have made this step much easier and safer.  There was one moment when a bit of a wind came up.  I think we all had visions of the wind taking the huge clear plastic sheet and blowing it into the barbed wire fence not to far away.  But thankfully, somehow we managed.  With six people, this took a few hours.

The high tunnel greenhouse with the clear plastic cover on

The interior with the clear plastic cover on

Step 14 - Install the Roll-Up Sides
This step consisted of connecting sections of conduit pipe together to form a single piece of pipe 72’ long (the length of the structure).  This long piece of pipe is then attached to the dangling plastic.  A gear box is then attached to the end of the long pipe.  When a handle is used to turn the gear box, the long pipe begins to turn.  This will, very slowly, roll the side up or down.  “Anti-billow” ropes are attached to keep the roll-up side from blowing in the wind.  This is repeated for the other side of the structure.  This took four evenings.

Step 15 - Bring in the Dirt!
Since we removed the topsoil before construction, we then had the additional task of hauling the topsoil back into the structure.  I’m sure there are a lot of weed seeds in the soil that will be germinating at some point.  We have been watering the dirt to encourage some of these seeds to germinate so we can remove the young weed plants before planting a cash crop.  We will soon be planting a fall, nitrogen-fixing, cover crop that will enrich the soil through the winter months.  We will continue working on soil health, nutrition, and fertility by applying compost, worms, etc.

Some of the topsoil is in

All of the topsoil is in

Expenses
Here is a summary of the expenses:

• High Tunnel Greenhouse Kit $6,000
• Rafter Supports (8)           875
• Shade Cover                     550
• Cedar Posts (12)              1,025
• Garage Door (1)                 300
• Walkthru Door (1)                55
• Polycarbonate Siding            410
• Concrete (48 bags)              108
• Composite lumber                 45
• 1x4s for Ribbon Board            45
• 2x4s for Purlins                100
• 2x6s & 2x8s for door framing    100
• Misc hardware for doors         100
• Misc screws & bolts             100
• Tarps 100
• Vinyl Coated Cable 80

                          Total: $9,993

The total cost (not including labor) is about $10,000 (including our enhancements).  We have been told to expect three to five years of use from the plastic covering before it needs to be replaced -- so that will be a recurring expense every few years.  We hope most other components (other than the plastic cover) will last for many years.  Conservatively, we hope to generate at least $10,000 of revenue per year from selling garden produce grown in this high tunnel greenhouse.  So, the return-on-investment ratio is fairly good.

Benefits
Based on our research, we hope to see many benefits of having a high tunnel greenhouse.  

• Longer growing season
• Protection from bad weather
• Improved ability to manage moisture and temperature
• Improved ability to manage weeds
• Improved ability to manage pests
• Improved ability to manage disease
• Ability to grow some plant varieties that otherwise would not grow in this climate
• A more temperate environment to work in -- especially when the weather is poor outside

Altogether, these benefits will result in a higher quality product, greater quantity of product, easier and more convenient gardening work, and reduced risk.

Summary
This has been a wonderful project to work on in the great outdoors!  We have grown from the experience, and we have invested in our future.  I am oh so looking forward to those cool late-fall and early-spring days being greeted by t-shirt temperatures in the greenhouse!  

Please stop in sometime! We'd be happy to show you our high tunnel greenhouse!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have!

Rick Grosek
Bear Butte Gardenswww.BearButteGardens.com
Rick@BearButteGardens.com