Holy Hoophouse Batman! (especially interested in cool climate gardeners!)

[Carley]

We are a spur of the moment "Let's do a project" type family. We have a small lot (& even smaller house) but an overflow of recycled materials from our 4 year rennovations.

Yesterday my husband built me hoophouses over my raised beds!!!!!!

I'm thrilled. Seattle is not only cold, it's also wet & that is a downer when it comes to anything but leaves & brussel sprouts (which are fantastic, I know, but one can only eat so many...)

My little seedlines have grown up just fine. I've got all my most sturdy solanacea & cucurbits hardening off in the cold frame. My house isn't a terribly warm place, so growing seedlings that will grow in my house is an indication they'll be more forgiving when placed outside.

This morning they (& the plants already existing in the hoophouse look like they got a shot of steroids. Amazing what an additional 10 degrees will do!

So what the heck? Am I going to be out there with a paintbrush pollinating everything all Summer?

Is it possible to grow corn underneath? I've got 4' corn variety & the hoophouse stands 6' from the soil in the raised bed... will they hate the moisture on their heads?

I'm inclined to cram as many hot plants as I possibly can into my beds as an experiment. My visions are already crowded, but I can't seem to fend off my compulsion...

Experience? Bad ideas? New ideas? No ideas?

Hoop house! Yay!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

pictures!?!

[Jenn_M]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon Feimorgan

pictures!?!

Yeah, that!

I have no advice but I'd love to see your setup!

[EmsMom]

Hey, I do not garden with hoop houses (yet!). But I work on a farm that uses them to provide some greens all winter (northeast). I don't know how hot it might get in Seattle, but here by mid-May, the sides need to be raised on the hoophouse or the plants really cook. THen the pollinators can get in. You might want to keep a thermometer in there so you can monitor the temperature daily. I know Seattle is cool, but there are probably some days when it will get warm. I do think that if you never open it, you will probably need to figure out how to hand-pollinate.

One thing that we noticed over this winter is that when the plants are harvested from the hoophouse, going from the extremely high humidity to low humidity (in a cooler) is very hard on the plants and they wilt much quicker than field harvested plants. If you notice that, you may want to find a way to protect their moisture levels if you aren't going to eat them right away.

enjoy!

[Carley]

Originally Posted by EmsMom

I don't know how hot it might get in Seattle, but here by mid-May!

NOT a problem here. Gardeners around here like to say that Summer doesn't begin until August. It's true. Seriously!



Allright!! It was a busy busy weekend but trust I WILL get some pictures up!!!

RAD!!!

[serenetabbie]

What Em's mom said!

I am in the NE too. We open the doors on both sides of the hoop houses if it is above 55 or so and raise the sides when it gets really warm.

[Carley]

WOOO!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4195155...7618913819382/

[spring978]

We added our first hoop back in Feb I loved it so well I added a 2nd we will make hoops for our other raised beds next year as well. We love ours, even DH can tell the huge difference they are making to our garden.

[Carley]

That's awesome news!!! Do you get in there with a paintbrush for pollination or just open up the plastic? Both?