VERY early produce

[Rosalind]

We are sort of on the hairy edge between Zone 6 and 7a. Zone 4, hmm, I would put row covers and such on. Do you have room to do a hoop house? You could probably do all sorts of stuff if you can put up a hoop house. They are way easy to build.

 

[me&thegals]

Kale and Brccoli Rabb for sure! I started seeds end of February, transplated early March ans we had fresh greens by Mid April. We also planted asparagus last year so that will be coming up too this spring by April.

We belong to a CSA as well in addition to our own veggie gardening.

Phyllis

That was my other question--I saw broccoli raab at only about 35 days to maturity. Wow! How do you use it? How does it compare to broccoli or other brassicas for flavor?

 

[me&thegals]

We are sort of on the hairy edge between Zone 6 and 7a. Zone 4, hmm, I would put row covers and such on. Do you have room to do a hoop house? You could probably do all sorts of stuff if you can put up a hoop house. They are way easy to build.

Thanks! I will try getting my pak choy and kale out earlier than I ever have before and see how they do. I bet they could really take a lot of cold!

Do you have any cheap methods for building a hoop house? Thanks for all the help

 

[Rosalind]

Hoop house:

Get some pipe. Can be from anywhere, recycled, wherever. The type of pipe determines how you build the hoops--you may need to beg/borrow/buy one of those pipe bender thingies. PVC pipe will bend enough on its own, mostly. Basically, you bend the pipe in a half-circle with 2-3 feet straightish ends however you have to do that. None of this has to be perfect. Then sink the ends of the pipe into the ground. If you have high winds, it might be worth it to sink the pipes down through dry-stacked cinderblocks before it goes into the ground.

Dig two post holes one door-width apart. Set posts therein. Build a simple door frame attached to the posts and hang a door, any kind (salvage, junkyard, etc.) in the frame.

Along the length of the hoops and across the non-door end, drape hoops with heavy clear plastic sheeting and attach to the hoops using plastic zip-ties--you know, the kind you use to bundle electrical wires and such. On the end with the door, attach one end of the plastic sheeting to the hoops and staple around the door frame. You know, so you can go in and out without messing up the plastic.

Inside the hoop house, add thermal mass: bags of dark colored gravel, jugs of water, rocks, bricks etc. Line walkways with black plastic held down with dark gravel and rocks. Amend beds as you like, or build raised beds.

Depending on what you have laying around the garage, it could be as cheap as free or as expensive as $200 to build. You can get just about all the materials from a salvage yard. In any case, the whole thing goes up in one weekend. You can also make one that is sort of portable to go over garden beds by building a framework with spikes the pipe ends can slip over, but without the added thermal mass it will only extend the season rather than let you grow all winter.

It's not as good as a real greenhouse. In seriously bad snow/ice storms, the plants inside will experience a bit of a frost. But provided you're growing frost-tolerant things, they'll be OK and will recover.

 

[me&thegals]

Wow--thanks! I can completely visualize what you mean. I will have to keep my eyes open for salvage materials. I'd love to be able to come up with something nearly free, maybe in time for next fall. Do you move yours around to prevent buildup of disease/pests?

 

[Rosalind]

No, but I've only been here since 2006. Plus, my garden is on a northern slope and there's only a limited area that gets serious sunlight--not many places I can move a passive solar type thingy to.

If you cover with chickenwire instead of plastic, makes a good chicken run too!