quote:

Originally posted by Snotzalot:
Afternoon update, ambient air 68 deg F under the tunnel it's 74 deg F. The cover is Agribon 19 and no plastic.

Any idea what your soil temp is running with versus without the cover?

Check back tomorrow, I'll find out!

Cool. I will be driving most of the next couple days. Will check back soon.

Soil Temp - 54 degs out of the tunnel, 58 degs in the tunnel and the spinach is doing well.

I had two nice rows of lettuce going in my hoop house last week untill rabbits got to it. I'm guessing rabbits. I'm waiting for the spinach to go next.
Any suggestions on how to protect it? The hoop house isn't totally sealed around the end piece. I think thats where they got in.
datgirl

Rabbits enjoyed most of my garden this year. Shorten your tunnel so you can seal it or make a wooden cover of some sort.

Interesting reading: http://www.mofga.org/Default.aspx?tabid=844

Set another low tunnel this weekend, spinach is looking good! Started an area of Mesclun mix, we'll see how it does.

enjoyed the article, thanks!

My only concern now is will the soil freeze under the tunnel during the winter. I planted spinach where I had my tomatoes, which suffered from the late blight. To kill off the blight around here the ground needs to freeze.

quote:

Originally posted by datgirl-og:
Any suggestions on how to protect it? The hoop house isn't totally sealed around the end piece. I think thats where they got in.
datgirl

It may not be rabbits but Voles or some other varmints. Check out the article on Elliott Coleman to see how he catches the voles.

snotzalot, sorry to be dumb, but what is EMT?

Electrical Metal Tubing, it's used for wiring in industrial locations. Hollow steel tubing where the wire is run through the inside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conduit

Available in many hardware stores, Lowes, HD etc. Costs less this $2.00 for a 10' length.

hey, thanks

Thanks for the link,I love Elliot Coleman. I don't think its voles. The letuce was just coming up and it looked nibbled. I found an old jar of curry powder and sprinkled it along the edge of the spinach bed.So far the spinach is intact.

This is a website with a complete tutorial on building a great hoop house. I have the site bookmarked but there have been no new posts since Aug. 26, 2009. I don't know if the blogger gave up or what. The site is still available though.

http://doorgarden.com/page/5