I built my poly tunnel from cattle panels, and it has been one of the more useful experiments on the homestead. I used 16-foot cattle panels and arched them across a 12-foot span because that is what my space allowed. If I had more room, I may have gone closer to a 14-foot span because it would give a little more growing width while still leaving plenty of headroom. The tradeoff is that a wider span lowers the center height. The 12-foot span worked well for my bed layout. A person can usually reach comfortably into a 32-inch bed when there is access from both sides. With 24-inch walkways, the layout works out like this: 32-inch bed, 24-inch walkway, 32-inch bed, 24-inch walkway, 32-inch bed. That equals 144 inches, or 12 feet. In real life, I would still leave a little room for posts, side rails, plant growth, straw bale insulation and general working space. This simple layout worked out well. With the 12-foot span and roughly 5-foot side walls, the center height is close to 9.5 to 10 feet, depending on how the panel bends and where it is fastened. With the same side wall height, a 14-foot span would be closer to an 8-foot center height. That would still be enough headroom and would give a little more floor or straw bale space. There are several ways to build a cattle panel poly tunnel, and some are much more permanent than others. Mine was built as a one-man, lower-cost experiment, not as a finished commercial greenhouse where I arched the panels from one side to the other. Another way would be to run the panels lengthwise with a pitched roof. In the design, the north wall can be more solid, act as an insulator and a wind break. I have seen people use straw bales along the north wall for insulation, water barrels with aquarium heaters or solid construction with insulation. For my first build, I used 7-foot T-posts so I could get about 5 feet of side wall height. I placed 1 1/4-inch PVC tees on top of the posts, then ran 3/4-inch EMT conduit through those tees as the side rail. The ends of the cattle panels were then wired to the EMT with wire bag ties.

By varying the water to tomato beds from 1/4" - 1" per week equivalent, am I just training drought resistant tomato plants or am I determining how much water a tomato plant needs?

June is a transition point in the garden. The last few plants still need to go in the ground, although the bigger work is helping the soil hold moisture, stay covered, and protect the life already working underneath the surface. This is where the living sponge layer becomes important. A garden bed is not just soil with plants sitting in it. It is a system of roots, compost, mulch, fungi, bacteria, worms, insects, air spaces, and moisture. When those pieces begin working together, the soil can hold water longer, breathe better, and support plants through heat with less stress. The goal is to build a loose, covered, living layer on the soil surface that can receive water, slow it down, hold it longer, and share it with plant roots over time. Compost, mulch, leaf mold, roots, fungi, worms, and insects all work together to maintain biology, protect the surface, hold the soil together, and reduce stress on the plants. When soil is bare in June, it heats quickly, dries quickly, and can seal over hard. When soil is covered and alive, it has a better chance to hold moisture, soften heat stress, and support the plant through the harder part of the season. So June garden work is not only about planting more, it is about helping the beds become resilient before the summer push arrives.

A quick summary to what we have discussed over the last couple weeks. Going forward, at the beginning of each week I will highlight a maintainance or preventive herb or blend for us to discuss. If you have any blends or herbs you have questions about, please feel free to post for discussion. We have several herbalist in the community that enjoy talking herbs. One of the most helpful shifts in using herbs at home is learning to see them as part of observation, not just something we grab after something goes wrong. Herbs can be useful for prevention, helping a system recover, or softening a body-system issue before it becomes louder. There are still in-the-moment herbs that can be helpful. We may reach for ginger when digestion feels off, peppermint when the stomach feels heavy, thyme when the chest feels tight, or chamomile when the body needs to settle. Although as we age, our systems may not recover as quickly as they once did. Digestion, sleep, circulation, stress response, inflammation, dryness, mucus, and energy are early observations that can help us understand which system may need support. Is the body feeling hot or cold, dry or damp, tense or depleted, heavy or restless? Is this a short-term issue, or is this a pattern that keeps showing up? An herb is not magic, and it is not a replacement for wisdom, rest, good food, or needed medical care, although it can be a useful layer of support. We can choose herbs with more care, not just because something is popular, but because it fits the person, the season, and the pattern showing up. Using herbs is a lot like tending a garden. We do not just throw inputs at the soil and hope something works. We observe the system, notice what is missing or overdone, and then choose the support that helps life move back toward balance.

For me, we finally recieved some long awaited rain, for a cople days of slow soak, sun came out a couple days and now its lightly raining again again... In between the rain, I have been stringing tomatoes, clearing the low leaves and starting to add this summers sponge layer starting with a 50:50 mix of soil and compost I made through the winter. Once the beds are complete and I get about 20 more plants transplanted, I bring in fresh shredded hardwood mulch to top the beds off. I pulled the poly off and the shading off the tunnel...