hoophouses for raised beds?

[midori888]

Basically, due to using the wrong type of fertilizer (wasn't suitable for method of gardening being used) it attracted aphids, and they decimated harvest.

Besides correcting the issue by NOT over fertilizing (and using too much nitrogen) I'd like to make hoophouses.

Will be used with raised beds (4' x 12', 12" depth). Can't be really tall; in community garden and they have rules as to how tall they can be. Would like to do low hoop houses, would they work?

Would be used for all veggies; cool weather stuff to start early, warm weather stuff to protect plants.


For material, floating row covers? Too light to cover hoop houses? Want for barrier to insects, don't want to over heat plants/suffocate plants.

W/starting cool weather stuff early, what should I use for material to keep plants warm?

Dimensions for plants....

Dwarf eggplant (18"-36")
Dwarf peppers (1/2'-2' max)
Determinate tomatoes
Bush type squash (3'-4' spread, 10"-12" in height)

[webmaster]

Answering an old question is not for the benefit of the member who posted the original question. I was thinking long range for the benefit of a future member who visits with a similar question.

[mauser]

I build a hoop house every year for seedlings I have started but not planted yet. I can give them better light and they are hardened off by the time I'm willing to plant.

I build it between my raised beds using curved PVC pipe and 8 ga clear plastic from Home Depot.

For heat I use candles in mason jars.

[imafan26]

I tried Remay once for pest control. It was supposed to be light and let most of the light in. Unfortunately it also kept the heat in and cooked all of the plants. I guess it wasn't meant to be used in Hawaii.

I have made hoop structures out of shade cloth and tulle for insect control and shading. It still allowed the air to flow and not trap heat. That does work for me.

[Vanisle_BC]

I build a hoop house every year for seedlings I have started but not planted yet. I can give them better light and they are hardened off by the time I'm willing to plant.

I build it between my raised beds using curved PVC pipe and 8 ga clear plastic from Home Depot.

For heat I use candles in mason jars.

mauser, I'm interested in your mason jar & candle scheme. Nice low-tech solution; can you give a few more details? What size/type of candle to last overnight - or longer - and how is the mason jar used? How many candles in what size hoop-house, and what outdoor temps your plants have withstood. Have you monitored the in/out max/min temps? Sorry to ask so many questions but I'd like to understand your setup better. Thanks for any answer.

[rainbowgardener]

I expect it is a variation on this, which has been showing up around the internet a lot:


https://inhabitat.com/video-how-to-make- ... ies-a-day/

This uses clay flower pots to "catch" the heat from the candle. The pots (there are two of them, one inside the other, to increase the thermal mass) get hot and then radiate the heat out for a long time. I haven't tried it yet, but I am planning to, once I get my seed starting operation set up in my unheated garage.

[mauser]

I build a hoop house every year for seedlings I have started but not planted yet. I can give them better light and they are hardened off by the time I'm willing to plant.

I build it between my raised beds using curved PVC pipe and 8 ga clear plastic from Home Depot.

For heat I use candles in mason jars.

mauser, I'm interested in your mason jar & candle scheme. Nice low-tech solution; can you give a few more details? What size/type of candle to last overnight - or longer - and how is the mason jar used? How many candles in what size hoop-house, and what outdoor temps your plants have withstood. Have you monitored the in/out max/min temps? Sorry to ask so many questions but I'd like to understand your setup better. Thanks for any answer.

My hoop house is 4' wide by 10' deep and it stands about 5' high at its center.

The candles I use are about 2 1/2"D and about 3" tall. Best of all they are only a dollar each at the dollar tree store. You can get a couple nights burn time from each one. I started out a few years ago using tea candles but found they wouldn't last the whole night.

For the mason jars I quart sized with the large mouth. I think that clay pot idea another poster showed is really neat and I may try that this year too.

As for the number of candles it depends on the overnight temp. I'll use 8 on a really cold night with a hard frost but only 2 on a nicer spring night. My rule of thumb was that each candle was worth about 5 degrees F.

Sorry all that is in standard and not Metric. I just noticed you're Canadian.
Chalk it up to me being one of those dang Bruins fans.

[Vanisle_BC]

Mauser, thanks for the details of your candle-heating set up. A bigger hoop house than I visualised. I guess the jar acts as a heat reservoir. Do you sit the candle in it uncovered?

And thanks for being specific about the size of your degrees . It helps to know which ones we're using! I grew up fahrenheitic so I'm ok in either language. Minus 40 is the same either way but I no longer live in a place where that's useful knowledge.

Rainbow, I really like the flower-pot variation you showed. I wonder if the second pot, inside, makes much difference. Slows down & moderates the heating of the house, I guess, and slows the cooling after the candle is done. I'll check out the link you provided.

[mauser]

Yes the mason jars are uncovered and placed within the rows of seedlings. The plants themselves are in solo cups.

[Vanisle_BC]

I checked that link:
https://inhabitat.com/video-how-to-make- ... ies-a-day/
but I don't think I'll be trying to heat my home with candles. I do remember though, when I lived in cold-winter country, always keeping emergency candles in the car. Never had to use them, thank goodness.