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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Row covers/zip house

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  • From: road's end farm <organic101 AT linkny.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Row covers/zip house
  • Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 20:17:41 -0500


On Mar 21, 2005, at 2:33 PM, Tom at Limerock wrote:

Lucy,
 
I understand they have short ones (25' ???) and a long one (maybe 200' /??).  Which did  you try?  Could you share some thoughts on them?  Hard to open/close?  Hard to put up?  Did it just fall apart?  No real warming benefits?  etc. 
 

I tried one of the longer zip houses once. Apparently I didn't put it up right; it wouldn't close properly without great difficulty and a lot of time spent, and then it blew away in the first good wind, damaging plants that had been under it in the process. However, I have heard that if you put them up right many people are very pleased with them. The catalogue made it sound as if it was simple to put up, but I gather that you have to get all the support wires into the ground at the right angle; and they really do recommend getting the version with edge flaps and covering the flaps well with soil (I had done that part, but had gotten the wrong angle for the support wires; the wind got under a resulting partial opening, I think, and pulled the rest of it right out of the soil). The company sent me an instruction video and replacement ziphouse when I complained, but I haven't made up my mind to put the labor into trying this again yet. Instead, I've been using spunbonded rowcover over hoops. This works well, doesn't need to be opened till it's warm enough to just take it off, and is a lot less fussy, though it probably doesn't give as many degrees of frost protection.

If you are going to try the zip house I recommend getting some good instruction on how to put it up first. Maybe somebody who is pleased with this would show you how; you could try asking the company where to find such people.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale


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