tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post5526550699184463563..comments2023-12-15T02:04:08.213-08:00Comments on meat: It's winter. Time to think about springBruce Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-6730244856556669382012-11-23T12:21:57.044-08:002012-11-23T12:21:57.044-08:00I've got Elliot's book and this is how I&#...I've got Elliot's book and this is how I've been growing produce through the winter for a couple of years. I don't grow in a big hoophouse (I haven't had one, but I'll be building two over the winter or in the spring). <br /><br />I grow produce in low tunnels built from schedule 40 pvc with steel T-posts at each end of the tunnels to stabilize them. I'm currently in Mulino, about 20 or so miles from Portland, Oregon. I grow a lot of leafy greens in the tunnels - leaf lettuce, endive, mustards, cilantro, etc. as well as garlic for green garlic (I normally don't grow it for the heads), leaf celery, etc.<br /><br />They work very well in my area and should work well in yours, especially if you do something like what you're talking about.<br /><br />Will Allen, of Growing Power in Milwaukie, Wisconsin also grows greens in greenhouses and hoop houses. He uses compost to heat some of his greenhouses. He does a lot of container gardening to use the vertical space inside the greenhouses as well as the floor space.<br /><br />I grow a lot of my leafy greens in 72 count plug trays and those would do very well on a deep bed of wood chips. The issues I've found with slow growth on the leafy greens has more to do with cooler air temps than short day length, so if you could place the trays on a layer of wood chips that are warm, that would shorten your turn around on crops.<br /><br />The one thing I've noticed with my low tunnels is that you have to keep an eye on the outdoor air temps when the sun's out. If it's 55 and sunny outside, I have to open up the ends of the tunnels or it'll cook my plants, especially when they're hardened off to cooler temps. But that's easy enough to do. <br /><br />My farm's The Little Homestead and I posted a video a couple of years ago about how I use low tunnels to grow crops over on Youtube. I can post a link if you like.Joannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713890730631954040noreply@blogger.com