If I had a bigger yard, a hoop house would be on my to-do list. It’s basically an enclosed plastic structure that extends the season by providing a little more heat than we have in the Northwest. It’s a good choice for those of us who can’t afford a greenhouse.

WSU provides a set of plans for a 10-foot wide, 42-foot long hoop house. This isn’t a good project for little wimpy city yards like mine. The hoop house length can be adjusted and is designed to be taken down during the fiercest part of winter.

I’ve seen people rig up PVC pipe hoops over the top of their raised beds and if you have instructions on how to do that, I’d like to hear from you. That’s a project even a city gardener can do.