Not really a greenhouse...

[digitS']

My temporary hoop house (tunnel) is 8' by 20' and has a framed path, 16" lower than the ground level. Using 15' pipes allows me to walk in there under the plastic, altho' I can't quite stand upright.

If you put a permanent roof of clear fiberglass panels over your raised bed, it wouldn't be too difficult to run chicken fencing around it. That could all be covered with plastic film.

I never know how gardeners keep things watered in the garden where it actually rains during the summer. That sort of thing is rare here and 1/4" of rainfall is usually thought a big deal. Nearly all the water for the garden has to be applied by irrigation. You would have to do that under your "garden roof" too.

Your chickens didn't eat your lettuce??

Steve

 

[digitS']

Here are some pictures of what we have going for protected growing:

show off your greenhouse/hoop house/tunnel/cold frame! (link)

You can see my 3 "structures" on that thread by Chickie'sMoma .

Steve
putting this here as a separate post

 

[NwMtGardener]

Hi, welcome snowwhite!! I garden in Northwest Montana, i think they call me zone 4b or something like that. I can tell you i have long winters and a short growing season! the link digits provided has a picture of my greenhouse, it helps me get started earlier in the spring like you're suggesting. I end up taking my plastic totally off about mid-summer. Hubby and i have talked about clear panels for the roof, with plastic sides. But my concern is that my greenhouse roof is pretty much flat, and we some years get a lot of snow. So...for now we put it up every spring, sometime in february - april. I've only been doing it a few years, and havent worked out all the kinks yet, for sure!!! Thistle mentioned a thermometer, and i do find that essential - mine wirelessly transmits the current temp every couple minutes to a display indoors, and keeps track of the high and low every day, its so helpful!! Well worth the small investment. I closely follow the forecasted highs for each day, and have to decide before i leave for work how much ventilation to provide for the day by rolling up various amounts of plastic or leaving the door open.

I also struggle with cramming too much stuff in a small space, its hard to limit when there is so much fun stuff out there to grow!! I will quibble with one thing Marshall mentioned about cilantro, i dont think it dries well - not much flavor left to me after its dried! But i made the same mistake as you - thinking my cilantro would be going into my salsa in the fall!! I can get it to grow *sometimes* depending on weather, to be ready when its time to make salsa, but its hard for me to get the timing right. I love it in lots of other things though too, even salads.

Cant wait to see some pictures of your garden!!

 

[catjac1975]

Take a look at my old post for extending the season.
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33299
Also re: chickens in the garden/ We have our garden fenced in adjoining to the chicken yard. We open a door into the garden for the entire winter. We merry close it in the spring. I think it reduces the pests with the chickens eating the bugs and larva.

 

[sn0wwhite]

thanks for the information and the links... I'm still trying to learn my way of navigation around here. I found this site from back yard chickens, but the functionality in this forum is quite different...

I guess I need to ask first... if I don't want to provide heat or light, will putting plastic over my garden actually buy me much time to get going sooner in the spring? Or will the temperature not warm up enough in there to justify it?

And I'll definitely need to get the plastic out of the way in the hottest part of the summer to keep from burning it up, right? We have long winters here... from like now until late March (although we had snow in May this year) and July is usually very hot - high 90s and 100s with high humidity.

Oh, and this year was my first year with chickens and I had some plastic fencing around the garden. They didn't discover it until very late, and happily I was out there when they did and I just hit them with a spray of water from the hose so they hated it. But, now that I'm using them to dig it over, they'll go after it every chance they get next year I'm sure.

 

[catjac1975]

You can make an early start with seedlings. The real benefit besides the extra time is the intense heat makes the plants grow faster and you will get a much earlier crop. I find I need to do a second and third crop as the first ones die out faster. I have not found any significant benefit with tomatoes unless you grow a big early plant indoors and then plant it out in blossom or with some tomatoes already formed. Every zone is so different though.

thanks for the information and the links... I'm still trying to learn my way of navigation around here. I found this site from back yard chickens, but the functionality in this forum is quite different...

I guess I need to ask first... if I don't want to provide heat or light, will putting plastic over my garden actually buy me much time to get going sooner in the spring? Or will the temperature not warm up enough in there to justify it?

And I'll definitely need to get the plastic out of the way in the hottest part of the summer to keep from burning it up, right? We have long winters here... from like now until late March (although we had snow in May this year) and July is usually very hot - high 90s and 100s with high humidity.

Oh, and this year was my first year with chickens and I had some plastic fencing around the garden. They didn't discover it until very late, and happily I was out there when they did and I just hit them with a spray of water from the hose so they hated it. But, now that I'm using them to dig it over, they'll go after it every chance they get next year I'm sure.

 

[Carol Dee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=-DKlXs8iov0

This might be what you need but looked doable! Glad to have you join us.

I live no too far south of you. So I know about the want to start early and prolong the growing season.

 

[digitS']

I figure it is 2 to 1 .

If I have a 6 week old plant to set out, I figure it is a 3 week head start. That's if everything goes okay and I don't shock the dickens out of the plant when it goes out. If the plant is "in-place" and the protection is just pulled off of it - I bet it comes closer to 1 to 1. That's probably what is happening in that temporary tunnel over those garden beds.

It could be a real nice thing to be able to easily cover plants like tomatoes during the 1st cold weather of fall. Not just the nights of frost but those days when it is becoming kind of miserable outdoors. Often, after those 5 days, or whatever, there are 10 days of nice warm weather. The plants may not benefit at all if they are recovering from having been nipped by frost going into that good weather, however.

Steve

I am going to come back and add something to this: There really isn't much of a good way for me to keep a tomato plant in an unheated plastic tunnel during spring nights when the temperatures fall below freezing. During the hours of darkness, the temperature in there falls to just a few degrees above the outdoors. So, if it is, say, 26f outdoors, it will in all likelihood freeze under that plastic.

Of course, it isn't just freezing temperatures which can slow/stunt plants. Days of 50 after nights around 40 will seriously mess with the growth & production of many warm-season garden plants if those cool conditions go on anytime at all.

 

[NwMtGardener]

I guess I need to ask first... if I don't want to provide heat or light, will putting plastic over my garden actually buy me much time to get going sooner in the spring? Or will the temperature not warm up enough in there to justify it?

I find it does help me get going earlier in the spring *if* its sunny in March and April. Which is a big if here some years. I also have the advantage of having my greenhouse be over my raised bed. Raised beds get warmer and hold the heat better, so the greenhouse really helps me get the soil warmed up faster.

And I'll definitely need to get the plastic out of the way in the hottest part of the summer to keep from burning it up, right? We have long winters here... from like now until late March (although we had snow in May this year) and July is usually very hot - high 90s and 100s with high humidity.

I think you will find you need to take the plastic off by late june or early july, at least that's been my experience. I dont have the humidity problems you do, but even here with the heat of the summer humidity was a problem in the greenhouse, along with excess heat i just couldnt deal with by rolling up the sides. Also, with my flat roof, rain is an issue because it pools up on the plastic and threatens to burst down into the greenhouse! We dont get a lot of rain here, but sometimes i'm out there poking with a broom to push the huge puddles out over the side!! If you use the construction grade plastic like digits and i do, you'll also start to have problems with wear and tear by that point in time. I have managed to make some of my pieces last more than one season, but there is a lot of plastic waste you have to accept if you want to go this route.

 

[so lucky]

Even tho you may not have much luck growing tomatoes and peppers in an unheated greenhouse, it might be just the ticket for growing your early spring crops like cabbage, broccoli, chard, lettuce, etc. And if you have any room at all inside, some fluorescent shop lights work great for starting those hot weather seeds indoors.