Sharyn Strom knows tomatoes. For years she has grown 25 to 50 kinds of tomatoes each year, selling the plants at the Woodinville and Lake Forest Park Farmers Markets.
She shared some advice on building a hoop house. Here’s her message:
“Creating a hoop house in a raised bed is very easy. If your bed is at least two or three boards deep you can create a hoop house by simply putting the pvc deep down in the dirt on both sides of the bed. Make sure the soil is packed around the pvc poles to create some stability. Your pvc pipes should be at least 12 feet long so the plants will have room to grow, and 3/4 inch in diameter for strength and flexability. Place the pipes against the sides of the raised bed and push them down as deep as you can, bend and place the other end directly across from the first. Continue until you cover your area. Cover with good quality plastic, you can use cheaper it just won’t last even one season. Secure the plastic with Snap Clips made from pvc, the snap clips come in a variety of sizes but I would stick with 3/4 for strength and flexabilty. Keep your hoop house around 5 to 6 feet long, if any longer you may need to secure a then flat board to the top (I secure it with duct tape) for stability from rain.This works wonderful for planting out tomatoes early, protecting tender crops from weather and extending your growing season with little investment.
You can buy the Snap Clips from Steubers, in Snohomish, Coast to Coast, in Monroe or through Charlies Greenhouse Supply. “
Thank you,
Sharyn Strom
No THANK YOU, Sharyn. If you’d like to share your own knowledge or photos, I’d love to include that information here. Until the powers that be at The Herald decide to let the bloggers have a reply function, you’ll have to send that information to my email: dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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