HelpfulGardener.com

OK. I need some help.
We go on trips with 3 other great couples and really enjoy cruises and places like Charleston, Vermont, Virginia, Arizona, Utah, etc. Well this year my wife and I have invited them to Lake Martin for the third week in June. We picked that week because I normally have some good tomatoes by that time. BUT, this year I want to make sure.

So I am trying to devise ways to speed up the process. I have one spot behind my house that gets the earliest Springtime sun (it is well later before the Sun gets high enough for good warmth for my whole garden). Each year I plant some early tomatoes there in large containers. This year I want to devise some kind of removable "hot house" to put these plants out even earlier and protect them from our March cold spells. I should have no problem getting the plants ready early in my small greenhouse.

What are some ideas for keeping these early plants growing and healthy during some cold spells? Also, I plan to have early crops of beans and corn, but do not plan to add extra protection to them.

Thanks in Advance

You might not want to buy them, but wall-o-water concept is one good way. I haven’t used them in a while, but they do work ... my issue is the space they take up and weeding inside and around them — But I think those tubs you use are big enough to accommodate them.

I guess a diy example might be two circles / donut of sturdy wire support, drape clear trash bag over them and fill the gap with water, then secure the top and cut hole in the middle to plant?

...here’s reference link For how they are set up/used — you can buy them from different places some are genuine original and others are copycats ... https://www.planetnatural.com/product/w ... er-3-pack/

...a key here is to warm the soil for at least 1 week before planting, the other features of this concept are — thick, double-walled peak-vented teepee hotcap ... filled with water which make use of insulation, heat sink, and heat generated/released during freeze/melt process of the water... oh and the ability to morph from the vented teepee to open-top wind-break/heat sink donut surround.

Thanks applestar, I will look into that.
Especially like the idea of warm soil in the containers BEFORE the plants go in. Whatever I build I will have it up and going well ahead of putting plants in. Great idea!

I had written a response, went looking to see if I had any suitable photo's, the battery on the tablet went dead ... oooooh! I shoulda saved it as a draft ! Migrated to the PC and will start again.

Lakngulf, the hoopies that I set up each year are fairly quick and easy. The hoophouse takes more time but it isn't difficult. It's 9' by 20' and covered by construction grade plastic film. The film is held up by 15' pvc hoops. They are placed over rebar stakes along the perimeter. The film is attached to frames at each end - a door frame and a window frame at the opposite end. The center aisle is excavated to 18" so that I have room to stand upright. The hoophouse stays up for 10 to 12 months (EDIT: weeks!) each year and I've been putting it up for 20+ years. The door & window frames are there year around.

Because the film is attached to the wood frames, it's best for me to not reuse it. I can easily get another season's use (it's not UV-resistant film) by cutting it in half and using it for the hoopies.

A good size for the hoopies is 8' by 4'. Nine foot pvc pipe form the hoops and they are also held in place by rebar stakes. Boards laid across the film hold it to the ground along the sides. At each end of a hoopie is a crate filled with rocks or bricks. That holds the film overnight and the crate can be inverted with the bricks on top so as to provide ventilation during the daylight hours.

I have never tried to heat the hoopies with an electric heater but that works fairly well when necessary for the hoophouse. An additional electric fan moves the warmer air down the 20' of protected growing. The two won't provide a temperature at 60°f during a night in the 20's but they will keep plants from freezing .

Steve
Edit! "The hoophouse stays up for 10 to 12 months each year" WRONG! 10 to 12 WEEKS.

digitS' wrote:I had written a response, went looking to see if I had any suitable photo's, the battery on the tablet went dead ... oooooh! I shoulda saved it as a draft ! Migrated to the PC and will start again.


Steve
Edit! "The hoophouse stays up for 10 to 12 months each year" WRONG! 10 to 12 WEEKS.

Well, my first thought was WOW if 10 to 12 months you might as well build a big greenhouse, but weeks sound better.
Thanks for the info and I share your dismay on typing a reply only to find it lost in cyber space someone. Maybe that is what makes up Meterorites and Shooting Stars!
I am trying to figure the best material to use and whether to try and get more than one year from the build.

In the barn at the farm are 3 or 4 large sheets of THICK (3 to 4 inches) of stiff foam that was used for insulation on some project. My thought on them is to cut about height of the containers and use them from ground up. That would be some good cold and wind protection at a spot I do not need sunligh.