Do you have your computer to use some strange encoding? I'm seeing things like 35�x4� and I�d.

Taking a guess at what you mean, the answer will depend in part of the weight of the Reemay (Agribond). Some offers 2-4 degrees of frost protection, some 8-10.

Another thing to consider - are you wasting your time and effort? Tomatoes, eggplant and peppers need warmer temps - more than 55 degrees and 5-6 hours of good sunlight per day. If they are getting neither or little of both, you may gain a day or two but nothing very significant.

I'm going to try it this year but from about the end of February on we have a lot of very sunny, sometimes warm days. The cover will be for the nights when we do get a frost, especially at the end of April, first part of May. My plan is not to use plastic. I will sow lettuce between the tomato plants, probably about the third week of March. The reasons are twofold: one, I can harvest about 375 heads before the toms get large enough to shade them and secondly, they will help hold the Reemay up a bit.

YMMV,

Mike

The strange symbols are likely GW's fault. They should be reading fractions and such.

If you are looking for an early start, a small, crawl-in hoop house with plastic on top and on the bottom is both better and cheaper, although it requires a bit more work. Plastic will give you 15F, and if the seeds or seedlings are a bit recessed under the black or clear mulch, even more. The problem will be the high humidity. In my experience, tomatoes and eggplants are not sensitive to those conditions (zucchini are though). The extra work consists on opening the ends every now and again for ventilation, though frankly I do not do it.

Sorry - I typed the post in Word, and Microsoft decided to replece apostrophes and quotes with (upside down question mark and 1/2) gobbledygook.

To clarify my intent, I do intend to try a low hoop house with bent conduit every 3' covering a 4' wide 32' long bed. My current plan is to try eggplant, tomatoes and peppers inside, and I'm wondering how much it would let me advance the season. I have no clue what type of plastic mulch and Agribon covering to use. Our typical weather for April-May is low 40's, cloudy, rainy, windy.
So, is it worth my while to try a low hoop house, how much would it let me advance the setting out date, and am I right to be thinking toamtoes,peppers and eggplants inside? (If other cultivars would be more appropriate for this first try, I'm all ears.)
Thanks in advance, and sorry for the gobbledygook in the original post.

I have several hoops up now in the garden.

On Cape Cod you may want to put your hoops closer together to strengthen the structure against the two big dumps of snow and the wind from the Nor'easter that comes thru in late Nov. Because you will soon learn you can grow cool seasons all winter there.

Second, your issue will also be heat on sunny days in spring. You will want to have someone around to vent.

Next, look at the product called Wall O' Water (WOW). They are standard out here in the Intermountain West. They allow me to set out my toms and eggplant 4 weeks before last frost.

Then, you will need two thicknesses of row cover, a very light weight for near last frost, and a heavier (~1.5 oz.) for the cold snap you will get several weeks away from last frost (esp this year). I have two sets of hoops up now with cabbage, spinach, lettuce and arugula underneath, with two layers of 4 mil and two layers of 1.5 oz fabric and still going even after one low of 14�F so far ( in a raised bed using water to retain heat ). We have tremendous sun here so very easy to gather heat.

Your plastic should not be the painter's tarp from the local BigBox as that will shred. You may want to look at Territorial's Tufflite IV if you get your seed from them, otherwise cheaper elsewhere.

I don't use black plastic (no ideological reason) but instead I use a film from Johnny's Seed that warms the soil ~8-10�F after just a few days. Put it down 4-5 days prior to planting out.

HTH.

Dan

I am sure near the Rockies the sun is relentless, but plastic from the big box has always done well for me in MI and it will do even better in cloudier Cape Cod. I prefer 4 mils plastic. It does not break down over three years of winter use.

The purpose of my previous post was to point out that plastic is always better than Reemay, thermal wise, and of course the two together add up. If your hoop house is well sealed, those low 40 nights will be high 50s inside and your solanaceae will do well. A good seal is the reason I do not vent, once you have it, I prefer to leave it alone.

Reemay might keep the soil underneath colder than it would otherwise be, by reflecting light, which is the reason I am not so hot about it, and the beds have to be absolutely free of mulch so that the soil can both warm and act as thermal ballast. Warming of soil will still happen with clear or plastic mulch.

WoW is of course a great addition. By March my wine is bottled and I have 11 carboys, totaling 55 gallons of water, going under the hoophouses with the three crops you are considering. You can get the same thermal ballast effect with 5 gallons buckets or small storage totes.

Thermal storage is made more efficient if you have flat black containers to absorb solar radiation, or clear containers with dark-colored water. I have both & leave room at the top for expansion.

I completely agree with the plastic making fabric more efficient. As an aside, Johnny's Seed teamed with Eliot Coleman to do a video to help promote some of their material for season extension. They do cool seasons all winter in Maine with plastic and heavy row cover.

Dan

A real basic question just struck me: How do you water plants mulched with plastic? If the hoophouse is covered with watertight plastic, of course one needs to provide drip water, but what about the case where there's just a layer of 4' wide plastic mulch ( and no top), with plants planted through it? Does one need to install a drip hose under the plastic, or can sufficient rain get in through the plant openings and around the edges of 4' wide plastic?

I would definitely have a drip line underneath the plastic.

Greg
Southern Nevada

It depends. Winter in MI in clay soil, with mature plants which have deep roots, watering is unnecessary. I punch drainage holes in the plastic at the base of the hoophouse, and that is that. In sandier soil, some watering is necessary. I simply fill the bucket I use to harvest, and pour it in one place. Evaporation will water the whole hoophouse.

In spring, things such as young tomato plants, absolutely you have to drip.

Out there the OP will need to water. Drip tape may freeze. You can plant the seeds in a trough and the water will make its way down thru the holes.

Dan