[tomato] Re: [gardeners] temp Greenhouse

William McKay (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Wed, 31 Mar 1999 11:28:08 PST 

I did one last fall which is working fine (I put lettuce in on 27 Feb 
and it is growing fine;  I plan to pick some next week).  Mine is 8x12 
(if I did it again, would go 12x16).  Made a perimeter frame of 2x6.  
Used 1 inch pvc pipe for hoops[if you can not find 20' lengths, get 2 
10's & join in the middle].  You need some sort of ridge board-can 
either make it from a 2x4 or use 3/4 pvc joined with straight connectors 
and cement and tied to the hoops with cut up strips of bicycle tubes.  
Attached the pvc to the inside of the frame with pipe clamps held on 
with a sheetrock screw.  Made some end walls from 2x3-nothing fancy, but 
just enough to affix my strapping which held on the plastic, have an 
entrance & venting for March & April.  Plastic was held down with 
strapping screwed to the perimeter frame with sheet rock screws.  My 
experience with a small house like this is that good end wall vents will 
probably take you through the end of april. (I have a fan but have not 
yet used it.   What I did is screw some strapping on the hoops about 
three feet up.  When it gets too hot for the vents, I can lift the sides 
up and tie them to the strapping screwed on to the hoops.  I plan to put 
tomatoes out @ 15 April (cover them with remay cloth for a few weeks).  
My first frost is usually during the first few weeks of October;  I 
suspect I can keep tomatoes going until mid December and lettuce and 
chard well into January.  Actually, my lettuce survived throughout the 
winter (lowest temp was -4) under remay;  no heat at all.

There are some fairly good ideas in Eliot Coleman, The New Organic 
Grower.  Also, if I remember correctly, UNH has done a lot of research 
on this.  They call them high tunnels.

Bill McKay in E. Massachusetts  



>Looking for idea's
>
>Want to install a temp greenhouse over the top of my normal
>growing area. Concept is to extend growing season spring and
>fall.
>
>Problem trying to figure out how to roll 16 ft wide plastic over the
>top, tie it off, keep it secure, then remove after it gets too hot.
>
>Any suggestions would be aprricated
>Byron
>

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