The ancient 16-pound hammer and I drove in 50 pieces of 2 inch by 6 foot long galvanized heavy-gauge pipe 3 feet into the ground, each one, leaving three feet of pipe out of the ground. These are the ground posts for the 30’ by 96’ Gothic high-tunnel greenhouse. There is a post every 4 feet. I thought that was the hard part. Maybe not.

On top of these ground posts, the arches of the greenhouse slip into each post and the basic structure, or skeleton, of the greenhouse is born. We fit the arches together on the ground. Each arch has a bent ridge section which connects the two side arch pieces. It is tied together with a collar tie which runs each side arch to side arch, and it has support braces running 90 degrees from the collar tie to the arches. Each arch piece is bolted to the next using an interior pipe, slightly less in diameter, creating a sleeve, like a straw inside a straw, bolted through the two straws. I’m not the engineer. I didn’t design this thing. I hope it works. It is branded a “Nor’easter” to give the dull farmer buying it a sense of security that the structure will withstand two-foot snowfalls and prolonged 80 mile-an-hour winds. I don’t know, I have a hard enough time trying to sleep already.

We drove all the posts in. We assembled all the arches on the ground. Now to get the arches up in the air long enough to slip them into the ground posts. I thought someone standing in the bucket of my skid steer could hold the arch as I lifted them up with the bucket and a man on each end could slip the arch into post. The skid steer would not lift high enough. I tried my friend’s backhoe. The controls were just too jumpy. Bend a pipe the wrong way and it is bent for life. I thought maybe two guys on each end could simply lift the arches up. Not to be, too wobbly. Someone could get hurt. Plus, manpower is in short supply.

Then, I went to see my neighbor Dwight. He’s got a crane. “Dwight, I’ve got to lift 25 steel arches up high enough to get them lined up with the post that will support them. Can you help?”

“That’s what I do,” he said, “I lift things. When do you want to do it?”

“Give me a day. I will text you.” It rained for two days.

“If you work on Sunday, we are ready for you,” I texted, once the rain stopped and the arches were ground-assembled.

I was placing raw honey on my road stand when Dwight pulled into our lane, driving his big white crane truck.

He set up the crane next to the greenhouse. All the arches were sitting at the base of the posts they would join. Dwight figured out his cabling (how to have the cable unhook itself from the center of the arch while 14 to 16 feet in the air) and he swung the crane out for the first arch. We centered the lifting cable to the high point of the first arch. Up it went. One man on each end of the arch guiding it, then, one end of the arch lowered into a ground post, the other soon to follow, and, bing, carriage bolt in, done, slip off the cable by jigging the crane, next arch please. Simple as pie: piece of cake.

25 thirty-foot wide arches were set in less than one hour. No slip ups. No bent pipes -- just mud on our shoes.

I couldn’t argue with Dwight’s professionalism, nor his price, and I slipped him a two-pound jar of honey. It is always a pleasure to work with men (and women) who take a heart-deep pride in the quality of their work and service. Commitment of thought to the task at hand, and a desire to work in a focused, concentrated effort straight to completion, are what make certain work teams superior. Thanks Dwight.

What’s next? The purlins will hold the arches apart, one from the other, and there are three sets of purlins to install -- the ridge purlins and two side purlins. Once they are in place, everything will be tightened, given the final torque.

The greenhouse skeleton then firmly in place, I can till the soil one last time and begin planting. We need some sunny days to dry the soil. I have held back trays of tomato and pepper plants and cuke seeds and zucchini for this late planting. I don’t need the plastic on. I can build the end walls after planting. Then put the plastic on just before it gets cold. That’s the point of the high-tunnels: to plant in the ground and extend the growing season, both forward into early spring and later into chilly, frost-killing fall.

Who knows? Maybe I can keep these tomatoes growing and producing right ‘til Thanksgiving?