Temperatures in a hoop house

[curly_kate]

We are buying a hoop house off of an acquaintance of my DH, and were discussing growing seedlings in them in March. We are in zone 6, and it still seems like it will just be too cold inside a hoop house at night. What is the heat retention of plastic like? Will I need to plan on heating it (which doesn't seem terribly efficient)? DH is certain it will be fine, but I'm not convinced.

 

[lesa]

Had my first experience with a greenhouse this year- and I can tell you this- you will not be growing tomatoes or peppers in there, in the month of March. Hopefully, Steve will chime in, he grows tons of things in a hoop house. I am sure it would be perfect for cool weather crops. Some people double up and put a hoop inside a hoop for added heat retention. I think you will enjoy having it, as it does extend your growing season- it might not work for tender seedlings early in the spring. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

 

[NwMtGardener]

Yes i agree withh lesa, i also had my first greenhouse year. I started all my seeds in the house, and used the greenhouse to start hardening off things toward the end of april (i'm zone 5, i guess!) but next year i'm planning on starting onion sets in there earlier, and um...direct seeding my peas pretty early - actually, i forgot, i did direct seed peas and lettuce um...i think end april too. Notes are in MT, i'm in PA right now . You will have a huge benefit of getting your plants out earlier, but i dunno about seedlings in march...only the real cold weather crops i think that early. You will love your hoop house

 

[digitS']

Here you are, Kate:

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=254083#p254083

I'm too sleepy to add much to what I was saying back in March of 2010.

I did set the hoop house up one year with a double layer of plastic. I'll try to remember how that worked out.

Steve

 

[curly_kate]

Thanks for the link - lots of good info! Is a hoop house worth it? I'm wondering if it's worth the money, even if we are getting it cheap.

 

[digitS']

It provides about a 3 week jump on the season, Kate.

That's not the end of things, tho'. During those cool weeks of April, it provides protection and encourages better growth for the cool season crops. I can grow Blues Chinese cabbage in the hoop house whereas it just can't do well outdoors.

I've even left it up right thru May and June. Yep, it had to be open most all the time. The plastic stayed on all the way to hot weather but I had warm-season things in there that year - trying malabar spinach for example. Vines can get started on something like tomato cages, you can pull the plastic off and they will climb the hoops in July.

There was some value in the double layer of plastic when I used it but it was not all that fun to deal with the 2nd frame and large sheets of film. If I did that again, I think that I'd just set up my little "hoopies" over the 2 beds in there. Those are more like row covers over shorter pvc hoops. Elliot Coleman talks about doing something like that in his Four-Seasons Harvest and keeping in-ground crops available right thru the winter. He does explain that there in Maine, those crops must be frost-hardy.

It just depends on what you'd be using it for, Kate. I'm glad I've got what I have to use.

Steve