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  • From: Marlin L Burkholder <gleneco1 AT juno.com>
  • To: market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: hoophouse tomatoes
  • Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2001 20:25:48 -0800


Tom,
Here is the step by step procedure for this year's hoophouse tomato
project:
1)Plowed the ground befor beginning hoophouse construction and dumped
approximately 4" of finished compost on top of the plowed soil.
2)Built the hoophouse (24' x 14')
3)Spaded the entire area inside the hoophouse down to plow depth, mixing
the compost into the soil.
4)Formed three 3 1/2--4' raised beds by digging two 1'+ wide ditches down
to undisturbed soil and piling it on the beds. This formed effectively
double dug raised beds approximately 18' deep of loose compost enriched
soil. The ditches became the walkways.
5)April 28th planted 40 tomato plants (one row per bed) on an 18" within
row spacing. Planted indeterminate Striped German variety in the center
bed, semideterminate Red Sun and Daybreak in the side beds.
6)Laid drip tape and mulched plants with grassy hay.
7) Placed hoops made from 5' lengths of concrete reinforcing wire over
the row forming a 1 1/2' high wire tunnel over the rows.

> How did you support/hang your tomatoes?

8) After tomatoes had grown through tops of tunnels and were beginning to
need additional support, I took sissal type baler twine and ran it from
the top of the wire tunnel, up and over the purlins above the rows and
back down to the wire tunnels and tied to the wire. This made initially
two string supports per plant and I later added more as needed. I then
used plastic covered wire twist ties to secure the plant stems to the
strings.
>
> Did you inflate the inner space between the two layers?

I did inflate the double poly over the top and I framed the end walls and
doors with 2 x 4s and put poly on both sides, forming double glazed end
walls with 3 1/2" of dead air insulating space. The doors are 4' x 7'
and left wide open in summer for good West to East ventilation. The side
walls are 2 1/2 feet high and were left open for cross ventilation. I
had made temporary drop down side curtains of plastic feed sacks sewn
together which had succombed to UV deterioration by the time I needed
them on the night of Oct 9 when temperatures dropped into the mid 20s
here. Despite the resulting freeze damage I still have some fairly
decent tomatoes to sell this coming Saturday.

> Guess you use no heat.

I plan to replace these temporary curtains with a better double plastic
curtain which will be pocketed on the ends and raised and lowered with a
winch. Plans are to grow winter hardy salad greens during the next
several months with possible row covers on colder nights. If it gets
extremely cold I might stick in a small kerosene heater.

>
> As you might guess, we do not have a hoophouse but have been
> threatening to
> try it for years. Thanks in advance for your reply.
>
> Tom Anslow
> Limerock Orchards
> On Lake Erie, in Ohio
>
Hope this information is useful

Marlin
from VA
>
>
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