Getting ready for spring planting more experiments

 

Just an idea that was tossed up by a friend, Mary J. Essenmacher, who found the pallet growing system for small spaces and for upright growing if you have large spaces!

 

I’ll add some pictures to this to show where the pallet is in the hoophouse.

 

 

 

Also, when out in the hoophouse today I took the wading pools and set one down in the ground to the south side of the pallet/table. On the uprights of the table there will be eave troughs or gutters running North and South. The south end will be the low end and the north end of the top one will be the high point. The water will come from the pool, be pumped up to the N end of the top eave trough and then run south and go to the high point of the second highest one and fall to the north and then down again and again until it reaches the bottom one. The south end of this lowest one will drain back into the pond. It will splash and thus aerate the pond. The pond will have some kind of fish. Maybe koi or goldfish to start, maybe I can find some tilapia or perch and then let them grow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The straps you see in these pictures are left over from the winter. Once the winds from Hurricane Sandy pounded us for a few days and when the winds came out of the west (our most vulnerable direction) we had about 6 hoops that bent at the swage end. Then came another big blow, this one with several inches of snow, and at the north end there was over a foot of snow on the roof. This bent about 6 or so hoops. So I have repaired many, replaced some and guyed off the remainder. I don’t want to use up all my spare hoops till I get the herb house done and then I’ll know where I’m at with material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am putting 2 more ponds on each side of this embedded one and there will be walkway between them. I will also have room to plumb a line between in case they can be used for more fish and thus more tea for the eave troughs or even tea for the garden.

 

 

You might notice the fourth pool at the far end of the hoophouse. This was just going to be work area at the south end. If you look carefully at the double post in the middle of the picture you might be able to see the round thermometer that shows the temps at this end.

 

 

There has to be electricity run overhead to the table. I also am going to run a hose to the other end and also one to the table. This will give me utilities to the center of the hh and then the operation will be more efficient, rather than running 85 feet most of the time I can plant, per the plan, in a way that the veggies that need the most care will be in the middle of the hoophouse. The plants needing the least care will be to the far south of the hoophouse and the earliest harvested will be up near the barn. 

 

 

I do have two utility sinks and will put one up against the hh on the north end, inside and maybe the other will go near the table in the middle.  I am open for all ideas on this operation as it is more experimental that set in stone. Most of the planting schedules are for this area without the hoophouse and I am thinking I am gaining about one hardiness zone, maybe one and a half. This would put me like Wichita, KS or maybe a bit farther south. I don’t have the drying winds here and by being under the plastic the winds won’t bother so much.

I planted some potatoes in an experiment yesterday. They are some that sprouted from store bought ones and I put them in the ground in hopes they’ll grow. I am wondering if they will set any potatoes at all. Most of the potatoes grown here this year will be outside. They take up a good deal of space per pound of produce.

 

I mentioned to my partner in this operation that I would like her to do the smallest, 35 footer, hoop house into herbs. She has this itch to be an herbalist/healer and I would like to make that possible. We could sell dried herbs, infused oils, or even mixtures for different ailments. She’ll have about 600 or so square feet of ground level space. Plus I think we can put some up in a vertical growing pattern and maybe even some in pots that we can move out in the springtime and back into the hh in the fall.

 

She will be able to get herbs growing just like this in a short time. Then we can add tables as needed and really get this side of the operation going!

 

 

No news yet on the other 2 hoop houses and when th

at gets here I’ll have plenty to do above what is already happening.

My weather guy, Mark Torregrosa, from mLive here in the middle of the mitt, it one of the most accurate in the area. He has a long background in this area and always plants what he calls his weather garden. He has decided to start his tomato seeds and pepper seeds this weekend. I am going to start some inside and also start some outside.

The ponds will help regulate the temperatures inside the hh. I think this would be a good place to start the tomato plants. I also have some heat tape and will put this under the beds both in the ground and on the table. Plants respond best to the temp in the soil, not necessarily the amount of sunlight. I think that I always thought it was just the lengthening daylight that caused the trees to leaf out and the spring plants to bloom.  I might think that the blooming part is still light regulated but the initial starts are from the temp in the soil.

I think in a couple weeks the screens might have to go back on the windows of the house. It’s getting to that sloppy time of the spring and even though the hoop house is plenty dry to play in the dirt the outside dirt is still a couple months away from heavy planting.

This is a great time around here, the sun is finally shining, it comes up before 7 in the morning and stays light until after 6 at night. Much different than a couple months ago, 8 in the morning and 5 at night! Aughgh!

Time for a shower, I smell like fresh dug dirt and sweat!

 

Be well; peace…dan

 

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