((Serious Gardening))

[Junkmanme]

Smittenroade,

I didn't use ANY "connectors" in building my hoophouse. They are expensive and I could only find the ones I thought that I would need at Greenhouse Supply Houses on the Internet.

IF you look closely at the pictures....you will see that there are no connectors on the PVC. Incidentally, After putting up the PVC hoops, spray them with Fusion spray paint (for plastic). It will keep the plastic sheeting from interacting with the PVC and will protect the PVC hoops from UV light-rays.

I drove short sections of 1/2 inch re-bar into the ground and slipped the PVC pipe (arches) over the re-bar to hold it in place.

It's an inexpensive way to have a GREENHOUSE. I put 8 55 gal. barrels of water inside the hoophouse to retain heat overnight.
It consistently maintained a temperature 10 degrees warmer than outside overnight.

A worthwhile project !!!

-Junkmanme-

 

[Smittenroade]

That is great...rebar... genius! Now off to the hardware store!!! lmao

 

[western edge]

My first hoop house was pvc arches with cheap 6 or 8 mil plastic. Was doing good but the uv got to it and on a stormy july night, it shredded and with the plastic still hanging on to the pvc framing, wiping in the wind, destroyed what ever the bad storm did not. Next I built a wooden frame structure, a simple truss like structure with 3 foot kneewalls to accommodate the size of greenhouse plastic ( yes, very expensive) which I bought. It ended up being 13 by 21 feet and 7 foot tall at the center. I installed some salvaged mobile home crank out windows (some free stuff) and this upcoming season will be the fourth year I will be using it. I use it mostly for a hothouse for my started vegetable plants that go into the garden a little later at which time I usually put a few tomatoes in to the garden inside of the house. Think I have a few pictures from last season.

Guess I deleted the closeup pics. this is from my house roof.

 

[featherbaby]

Quote:
Hi FlaGardenGirl, when you have some datura or brugmansia plants or cuttings to share please remember me. I have plenty of volunteer seedlings of the double purple datura, but lost my favorite pink-edged Brug and all the rest. I go to all the Bent Creek swaps and could meet you there, or I will gladly come get them from you. Mine are all outdoor and perished in the arctic freezes this year so I have to start over. Bah! I'm praying I didn't lose my Surinam Cherry bush. A good friend of mine, now deceased, grew it for me from seed and I've had it for about 5 years. Never got a cherry from it (yet) and it looks iffy. I will be really sorry to lose that, it's irreplaceable.

Some of the exotics you mentioned sound VERY interesting!!! I don't think I've seen Mexican Bird of Paradise, I'll look it up. I know my common Bird of Paradise was almost 10 years old before it bloomed. I hope the maturity rate on these Mexicans is better. I am feverishly poring over seed catalogs and websites to find the passifloras I'll grow this year.

Good luck to you. Hope to see you soon.

Sandi

 

[Junkmanme]

westernedge,

You have created a VERY NICE gardening spot !!!

Your GREENHOUSE is approximately the same size as my "hoophouse". They certainly make gardening more productive and more FUN !!!

I imagine that your growing season in North Dakota is very SHORT...as is mine in the high altitude (6500 ft.) of Northern New Mexico.
(A Greenhouse is a convenient "season-extender".)

-Junkmanme-

 

[western edge]

Thanks for the comment Jumkman. This was my moms garden for many years and or 5 years it was not gardened. It was worked with farm implements to control the weeds causing great compaction and a total loss of soil bacteria. It took a couple of years of compost(well rotted cow manure)and fertilizers just to get it to grow anything. very nice sandy loam, well drained soil. Still working on getting the soil right but now I get great results. To the left in the picture behind ht trees you can see an addition that I have been working on for a couple of years to get that soil up to par. Season is very short, zone 4, 95 to 110 day(with a little luck). Kinda limits what can be grown. Thats where the hoophouse comes in really nice. last year I was eating vine ripened tomatoes into mid October. 6500 feet in the high NM desert, I here thats beautiful country.

 

[galanie]

Western Edge, I'm jealous! Lovely garden! And with all that work in it, I know it's as good for growing as it is beautiful.

 

[western edge]

Thanks again for the comments. I feel I have truly been blessed with this and my heritage RIR flock. I am for the day I can make it" full time ".

spuds

horseradish

late fall harvest

 

[Junkmanme]

I'm going to try horseradish AGAIN this year. I didn't do right last time.

I don't care much for the MILD horseradish available at the Grocery Stores.

NICE looking Harvest !!!

-Junkmanme-

 

[Sumatra503]

I have a 25x50 veggy garden in the bakc. This year I'll be planting, peas, squash, a 100lb. radish variety, a 10lb. winter squash variety, a few zuccinis, some mini and globe pumpkins.

In my 10x5 greenhouse I'll be growing blue chery tomatoes, yellow pair tommatoes, red brandywine tomatoes.

In the flower bed in the front I'll be growing a Wild Garden sort of bed. i have several seed types mixed together to sprinkle on the ground and just let them grow.

My soil blend consists of leaf compost, chicken and rabbit fertilizer, hay compost, and some pineshavings from cleaning the coop. All of this turns into black, moist gold and grows the hugest veggies each year. 100% organic gardening here.

I use row covers for the first 3 weeks to keep my free ranging chickens out of the garden since they just fly the fence. They dislike radishes, carrots, pea plants, and tomatoes. They don't touch the squash once it gets about 4 inches tall.