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market-farming - Re: snow vs hoop houses

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  • From: "Dori Green" <dorigreen00 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: snow vs hoop houses
  • Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 08:42:21 -0500


We can get sudden heavy snow here, so I have a local greenhouse start my seedlings and don't cover hoop houses here until April. By then the 512 plugs are ready to be moved into early-start covered field beds or six-packs in cold frames.

In fact, under the theory that workers can wear coats, I'm putting together mini-hoop houses this year using $10 16-foot wire cattle panels and flexible greenhouse covering material from Farm Wholesale
(about $5 per linear foot in 8' widths). My beds are 8' wide with a central walking path, and paths between beds are 4' wide. A whole 4'foot "house" section can just be unpegged and lifted when we need to work on the beds. They can be moved by one person though it's a lot easier with two people (especially when those April winds are whipping).

Lighter-weight plastic just couldn't hold up to our winds here. This solution has required some initial financial outlay but the cost is equivalent when we prorate out over the extra years of service we expect.

We're doing a special project this year with the same items grown under these covers and in another bed next door with hoops and slitted plastic.

Farm Wholesale is located in Salem, OR. They'll gladly send out a catalog if you call 1-800-825-1925. I've found them to be very pleasant and helpful.

Dori Green
Ash Grove Community Farm & Center for Sustainable Living
Corning, NY

http://www.ic.org/agrove/index.htm

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