True Cold Climate Gardening
The first crop of Swiss Chard and Beets have gone into the ground, I'm hoping I'm not too early in my eagerness!
A few changes have been made to the poly tunnel/hoophouse system from last years design, it was found hammering 2ft lengths of rebar into the soil and putting the pvc pipes over those to create a frame, is much more stable and can handle a greater snow load, the plastic pipe keeps its form much better. The other alteration yet to do is adding a length of straight, sturdy pipe across the top, again, this should improve it holding ability.
Inside the hoop house 6 plastic bottles have been spray painted matt black and filed with water, the idea is they store the warmth during the day and release it overnight, so far so good, the soil hasn't frozen and only on a few occasions the condensation on the plastic froze. But looking out the window now, we've already got nearly a foot of snow on the ground and it's still coming!! Maybe I am trying a little too early…
