Hello, Jama--
Here are a few quick thoughts and questions, with a promise to follow up
when I have more information:
Are you folks wedded to the notion of using a single high hoop house?
Aside from the prohibitive cost, given your budget, 90 feet seems much
too long for a passive solar system (using no blowers) of the height and
width that you describe: I think that you'd have a great deal of trouble
controlling both temperature and humidity, and would definitely wind up
with stale air near the middle--especially in the dead of winter, when
you'd often need to keep the ends tightly closed around the clock.
If you're set on using a walk-in space, a better strategy might be to
divide that length among several shorter structures, which could then be
used to address different temperature needs for different crops.
Remember, too, that rolling long side curtains up and down by hand on a
daily basis to ventilate your cold frame during transitional periods
could itself be quite a chore. In any case, you'd need to spend several
thousand dollars for your dream house.
On the other hand: Would you be willing to consider enclosing the same
amount of row space, configured a bit differently, with low tunnels
instead, using 4-foot hoops? That would be my preference--and I think
that you could do it quickly with the money you have on hand. I can give
you a list of materials and their cost, if you wish.
Finally, do you plan to cover existing rows with your new cold
frame(s)?--or will you determine the row orientation, width and spacing
based on your choice of the final design?
Let's keep talking (and rereading The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot
Coleman)--
--Dick
Jama Crawford wrote:
Dear Colleagues
We are considering installing a high hoop house (approx 12' wide, 7' tall, 90' long) for raising bedding plants, lettuce, and tomatoes. We typically have a very short season although this fall was extraordinarily generous with its frost free days.
Our garden has $650 left at the end of the season. Unheard of. We are always broke at the end of the season. So a hoop house is highest on the list of how to invest that money in future operations. We spend about $3,000 raising bedding plants at a commercial greenhouse each year, so reducing that cost could pay for the hoop house (as soon as we master the greenhouse operations - we can't pretend to know this piece of it yet).
I've looked up the cost of parts in catalogs and on line and have a basic idea of the cost, which exceeds this small budget, but I'm not sure if a clever and frugal group of gardeners has come up with a good hoop house for less. The house must shed snow, of course, so I'm especially interested in the experiences of gardeners from northern latitudes who must also deal with a lot of winter snow.
Thanks for your input!!
Jama Crawford
Shared Harvest Community Garden
Durango, CO
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