Hoop house for fall and winter

This year we’re going to try a different approach to the greenhouse idea.

I added a PVC hoop house to this 4 x 8 foot bed last weekend.  Well, everything except the plastic cover…it’s too soon for that.

I bought 6 pieces of half-inch PVC pipe and 2 pieces of the size that was big enough to let half-inch pipe slip inside itself…I think they are 1 inch.

I cut and drove sections the bigger pipes into the ground as holders for the hoops. The flimsy half-inch pipe was easy to bend over and insert into the pipes in the ground. I screwed up a top ridge pole and then ran a screw through each leg into the frame of the bed.

I added a bunch of rich black compost and then seeded some fall/winter crops.  I’m going to try carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, kale, lettuce, spinach and maybe a couple other things.

God bless cordless drills. I hate running drop cords.

I hurt my left hand somehow while using the 8 pound sledge hammer to drive the pipes into the ground. I didn’t even notice anything until hours later, but now my left thumb is almost useless. It’s strange to drive to work, go to make a left turn, and remember that I have to use my right hand to do it.

Oh, the flowers got transplanted into pots up by the house. S. helped me quite a bit with the work, but I didn’t end up with any pictures of him this time.

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